HotDocs films look at trans issues
As a young transgender woman in Uganda, Cleopatra Kambugu was at risk for seeking to live life as her authentic self. The East African country is notorious for anti-LGBTQ laws, which criminalize same-sex relations. After leaving Uganda for Kenya with her partner, Nelson, the LGBTQ activist found new freedom through film.
“I felt this was my last hope to be able to give back to the community by being able to (use), my voice,” Kambugu said of The Pearl of Africa, which screened at the HotDocs Festival in Toronto.
Kambugu had discussions with filmmaker Jonny von Wallström about ensuring there were “different layers and nuances” of how the story was told. “I guess one thing that’s never talked about is the apathy and the violence that men or women who date transgender people face. They’re also part of the transitioning process.”
While reflecting the difficulties faced by the queer community, von Wallström said he also wanted to reflect the universality of Kambugu’s experience. “It is also about being black and it’s also about being human and I think it plays several roles,” he added, noting that the “universal love story” at the centre of the film also resonates.
Trans rights remain a point of current discussion and contention. The Pentagon has announced transgender people can serve openly in the U.S. military. In North Carolina, battle lines are drawn over bathrooms with protests over state law widely seen as discriminatory to LGBTQ people.
“We didn’t know four years ago when we started that it would become such an important national topic. And it’s really great to see all of a sudden it has become much more relevant,” said Jessica Dimmock, co-director of The Pearl, which also screened at the HotDocs Festival.
Dimmock and co-director Christopher LaMarca document the lives of four middle-aged to senior trans women in the Pacific Northwest. Among the heart-wrenching scenes in The Pearl, one involves Nina Borsch, who ventures into the woods to don women’s clothing out in the open — yet in private.
“It was not ... like I was brave enough to be out in the public. It was a matter of (feeling), I had to satisfy this inner person called Nina who needed to be expressed outwardly as well as inwardly. So those moments of tranquillity in private quiet places ... kind of helped me move on during the day, and settle this frustration.”