Night School: Trans Cinema

Despite recent attention to representations of trans people in media, media created by trans people is often overlooked. Creating and circulating audiovisual media is a particularly powerful way to create new representations and new worlds. When trans people create audiovisual media, rather than simply being represented in it, they help make these new worlds.

In this lecture, Dr. Laura Horak (Carleton University) will present a history of trans, Two Spirit, intersex, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming film- and video-making in Canada and United States, from the beginning of cinema to today. We will watch selected short videos by trans and Two Spirit artists and discuss questions such as: What challenges and opportunities does audiovisual media present to trans artists? How have trans-made works spoken back to mainstream representations? How have trans artists used film and video to imagine new worlds? Members of Horak’s research team, Jay Cooper and Oliver Debney, will also present the Transgender Media Portal, which will be a new resource for learning about trans-made films and videos.