A scene from They, a story of “the hauntingly beautiful journey of J, a nonbinary youth in the Chicago suburbs”
The world’s largest transgender film festival returns to Capitol Hill this week with 50 films from 15 different countries including Kenya, Japan, Brazil, Ukraine and the Netherlands.
This year’s Translations, the 13th edition of the annual film festival from Three Dollar Bill Cinema, features “a plethora of fun non-film events” including performances and workshops at 12th Ave’s Velocity Dance, an All-Bodies & All Genders Swim at Rainier Beach Pool, a Speed Friending event, a stand-up comedy night, and a return of our How To Be A Trans Ally workshop “for folks who are new to the community.”
2018 venues include the Erickson Theatre, Northwest Film Forum, 12th Avenue Arts, and 10th Ave’s Pound Pictures space.
Translations began in 2006 and the annual event produced by Three Dollar Bill Cinema remains one of the few transgender film festivals in the world. This will be the first Translations without longtime Three Dollar Bill executive director Jason Plourde who stepped down in February after 20 years with the organization.
You can learn more and purchase tickets at translationsfilmfest.org. Some 2018 Translations highlights are below:
Opening Night! West Coast Premiere! Thursday May 3 at 7pm Erickson Theatre This powerful documentary will be presented by special guests director T Cooper and subject Dominic Chilko on May 3 at 7pm at the Erickson Theatre. This powerful documentary follows a group of FTM bodybuilders as they bravely define what it means to be a man, contextualizing that through the social, racial, and economic realities of their lives. For the men of MAN MADE, it’s not about winning—it’s about stepping on stage and being seen for everything they are. You won’t want to miss it!
THE MISSING GENERATION by Sean Dorsey Dance Special Event presented by Translations and Velocity Dance! May 3-6 at 7:30pm Velocity Dance Center This dance-theater work by award-winning transgender and queer choreographer Sean Dorsey gives voice to longtime survivors of the early AIDS epidemic through full-throttle dancing and intimate storytelling by a multigenerational ensemble: Sean Dorsey, ArVejon A. Jones, Brian Fisher, and Nol Simonse. Be sure to check out the dance workshops too!- SHORTS PROGRAMS Saturday May 5 at 2:30pm Erickson Theatre Saturday May 12 at 2:30pm Erickson Theatre There are two different shorts programs to choose from this year. Be inspired by these courageous trans folks living their lives proudly in LIVE IN YOUR POWER shorts which includes the highly anticipated film HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARSHA by Reina Gossett and Sasha Wortzel. Website for HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARSHA. IN THE FAMILY shorts reminds us that while we can’t choose our biological family, we can choose to be ourselves, unapologetically, and hope in turn that those closest to us choose to learn who that is. W
CLOSE KNIT Closing Night! First transgender-themed film from Japan! Teddy Special Jury Award at Berlinale! Saturday May 12 at 7:15pm Erickson Theatre This quietly beautiful film tenderly questions the definitions of both family and motherhood as it tells the tale of a young girl abandoned by her mother but taken in by her uncle and his trans partner. Chosen family looms large in this wistfully photographed tale of love in a time of great strife, which also peels back the layers of provincial Japanese transphobia.- THEY Premiered at Cannes Film Festival! Saturday May 5 at 7pm Erickson Theatre THEY is the hauntingly beautiful journey of J, a nonbinary youth in the Chicago suburbs who struggles daily to understand their place in the world—and their own mind and heart. This debut film by writer-director Anahita Ghazvinizadeh gives viewers as close to a first-hand experience of transitioning as possible, as well as a glimpse of what life would be like if being trans were normalized. Allowed to evolve, think, and grow, Rhys Fehrenbacher as J portrays one of the most fully developed trans characters on screen. Ghostly cinematography by Carolina Costa brilliantly supports the naturalistic performances in this movingly poetic film
