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| A Movie About Trinidad, CO [message #39855] |
Fri, 29 August 2008 06:37 |
 CarolynnL 
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US - Film - "Trinidad" - A fascinating visit to the 'sex change
capital of the world...' [2008-08-28 Austin 360]
http://www.austin360.com/movies/content/movies/stories/2008/ 08/0829agliff.html
A fascinating visit to the 'sex change capital of the world'
In their documentary 'Trinidad,' Austin filmmakers PJ Raval and Jay
Hodges look at Colorado's transsexual underground that is very much
above ground
By Chris Garcia
AMERICAN-STATESMAN FILM WRITER
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Gracefully does the small town of Trinidad, Colo., wear its title as
the "sex change capital of the world." It's a fact of life, taken
with a shrug here, the random wrinkled nose there. Mostly, the
population of 9,000 coolly accepts the designation with even,
perhaps, a ray of pride.
File the phenomenon under: "When very progressive things happen to
small rural towns."
It began when a Dr. Stanley Biber conducted the area's first genital
reassignment surgery in 1969 and took off from there. In 2003, after
performing almost 6,000 sex-change operations, Biber, then 80, handed
over his practice to Dr. Marci Bowers. Marci used to be Mark, and she
became the first transgender surgeon to perform these operations.
Two of her patients are Laura and Sabrina, and the three of them and
their captivating life dramas are the focus of Austin filmmakers PJ
Raval and Jay Hodges' documentary "Trinidad," which screens Thursday
at the Alamo Ritz during the Austin Gay and Lesbian International
Film Festival. The festival runs Wednesday through Sept. 7.
Avoiding "before and after" sensationalism — part of a sex-change
operation is tastefully depicted — Raval and Hodges trace the women's
personal stories with curiosity and sensitivity, using quaint, rural
Trinidad as a mountain-girdled backdrop. As in any documentary worth
its video stock, universality about the human condition is the
subtext of "Trinidad."
"It makes (viewers) think about their own lives, if they're living on
their own terms and really expressing who they are," Raval says. "If
anything, it will give them the courage to be who they are."
The film's directors met five years ago as co-workers at Cinematexas.
While Hodges is new to filmmaking, Raval has cultivated a long résumé
that's made him something of an Austin film star. He's best known as
the cinematographer on the features "Room" and "The Cassidy Kids" and
the recent Sundance Film Festival documentary winner "Trouble the
Water." He also shot "Trinidad."
Much of the crew on "Trinidad" boasts strong local connections,
including editor Kyle Henry (the director of "Room") and executive
producer Matt Dentler (former South by Southwest Film producer).
Hodges and Raval express breathless gratitude to the Austin Film
Society, City of Austin, AGLIFF and fellow filmmakers for aiding the
production.
"It's about a town in Colorado, but it's really an Austin film,"
Raval says.
Earlier this summer, "Trinidad" enjoyed a well-received world
premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival, followed by screenings at
Outfest. (Raval says they're negotiating for a distribution deal.)
Playing it for Austin is something else, though. It's a homecoming.
American-Statesman: Why Trinidad?
Hodges: We heard about Trinidad at a dinner party from a psychologist
of one of the patients there, because patients have to go through a
year of psychological evaluation to make sure they really identify as
a transgender. We were like, "Wow, there's this town in the middle of
nowhere with tons of transsexuals in it?" It was built up with all
this mythology created around it.
Raval: It sounded like a town where you walk down the street and
there's transgender women everywhere. We saw articles that made
claims that there were size-12 pumps in all the stores and lots of
big women clothing stores all over.
Was there a lot of de-mystification once you got there?
Raval: Absolutely.
Hodges: We contacted Marci Bowers, the main surgeon in the film, and
she invited us out to check it out and to talk in person. Our first
trip was about five days in 2004.
Raval: It was initially a "research trip," but we brought our cameras
and started shooting a little bit, met people and got the feel for
the town. What interested us is that there really is this universal
idea of acceptance and self-expression, which is something everyone
goes through. This is just a particular form of it.
Hodges: Usually this subject is treated voyeuristically.
Raval: We were coming at it as personal stories, portraits of these
women and what they've gone through to express who they are.
Hodges: We shot over two and a half years and spent about four months
out there, so we really got to know the characters, and they opened
up to us and let us in.
With the pickups, strong religious foundation and cowboy culture,
there seem to be parallels between Trinidad and, say, any small town
in Texas. Except, of course, for the transgender population.
Hodges: I grew up partly in West Texas and I was, like, "There's no
way this could possibly happen there!" But it's been part of
Trinidad's landscape for more than 30 years.
Raval: It's a small town and everyone has a stereotype about a small
town, especially in America. That intrigued us. It defied the
stereotype of small-town America. Generally you think of that as very
conservative, very unaccepting.
Yet you show that side of the town in the film. Some of the interview
subjects express distaste.
Raval: The question is: Can people coexist? And they do. That's what
we set out to explore. Fine, we meet these people who say they're
very religious and have a very specific value system. But does that
mean they're going to actively impose their thoughts on someone else
in the town? For the most part they don't. They're respectful.
Hodges: It's "live and let live." We heard that a lot: "Trinidad's a
live and let live place."
Raval: "To each their own." "Who's to say?" We heard that one a lot,
too.
What did you learn about people and life making the film? Any
epiphanies?
Hodges: That my problems are really minor. (Laughs) I learned a lot
of confidence from the women. They're incredibly strong people who've
been through a lot. Look at Sabrina, who's been knocked down time
after time. But she's still great, happy and confident.
Raval: They're incredible women who inspire both of us. They really
know who they are and are committed to finding out who they are. They
understand what the consequences are, but they also understand the
importance of expressing yourself and being true to yourself.
Something that's a little sad is how most of the transgender patients
are deep into middle-age and only now fulfilling their dream of
complete transformation.
Raval: I think that all of them tried for several years to suppress
what was in them.
Hodges: Sabrina actually says in the film that when she met her wife,
she told her she was a cross-dresser. It became more of an identity
issue, not just something she did on the side.
Raval: They come from a different age and generation. Transsexual and
transgender issues are at the forefront now. You can read about kids
who are 12 or 13 who identify themselves like that. There's a greater
understanding of it, and people like Marci, Laura and Sabrina are out
there educating people. That's something we're hoping to do with the
documentary. Transgenders are part of every community. All the women
in the movie were fathers, husbands, brothers. It's not like a small
community tucked away somewhere. This is someone you might actually
know.
'Trinidad'
SCREENING
'Trinidad' screens at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Alamo Ritz (320 E. Sixth
St.). Directors Jay Hodges, below left, and PJ Raval will be there.
The 21st annual Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival
When: Wednesday through Sept. 7
Where: Alamo Ritz, 320 E. Sixth St.
Cost: $10 per movie; all-access badges and film passes are also
available
Information: www.agliff.org
--
Copyright 2008 The Austin American-Statesman.
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