A lesson Hollywood can learn
ganza, was always interested in acting, but she had never auditioned for anything.
“I didn’t see a lot of trans actresses on television, so I didn’t think it would even be a possibility,” she said. “It never really crossed my mind.”
The same goes for Moore, who has minor acting experience from attending a theater arts high school but had never made moves to break into the film industry. Because Cardasis reached out to house father Jose Xtravaganza (through Facebook) and forwarded casting info, she credits being involved in the scene for the opportunity.
“It’s awesome to see how the industry reaches out to the ballroom scene and culture to portray the ballroom scene and culture,” she said. “It’s been a blessing to help express some of what I’ve come from through our gaze.”
And therein lies what separates “Saturday Church” from other narrative depictions of the ballroom scene and trans and gender nonconforming lives. There’s a raw authenticity present in the film that’s tough to achieve from simply helicoptering in, said Bornstein. (Many will recognize her not as an actress but as a trans trailblazer, performance artist and author of the seminal “Gender Outlaw.”)
“Damon, by diving into the world prior to making the film and listening to all of us actors, used whatever privilege he has — yes, gay men have some privilege — to ease somebody else’s suffering,” she said. “And he didn’t impose his voice on any character in the film. On that level, this film is groundbreaking.”
She also notes that his use of the Xtravaganzas and members of the House of LaBeija as consultants and the casting of trans women as trans characters helps this effort, a lesson Hollywood at large can learn.
Mj Rodriguez, whose acting credits include “Nurse Jackie,” “Luke Cage” and an off-Broadway revival of “Rent,” agreed.
“We are the only people who know our lived experiences, what it’s like to be trans and the things we go through,” she said. “We can bring that to the role.”
It’s a striking contrast to the long list of cisgender heterosexual actors who have played trans women in high profile roles, including Jeffrey Tambor in “Transparent,” Eddie Redmayne in “The Danish Girl” and Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club.”
“They don’t have the emotional pull of what it’s like to exist in that margin, what it’s like to be unloved and rejected and the layers of trauma that come with being rejected so often by friends, family, loved interests and for men to feel like it’s OK to abuse you and have their way,” added Moore.
“When we create productions that focus on the gaze of other people who are not trans, we’re getting these stories that are putting our transness under a microscope to be dissected. Our experiences and the trauma we go through are being tokenized for people to gawk at and to fetishize. These people don’t know what it’s like to be rejected because you exist.
“[With us], it’s not acting. We’re actually pulling from an authentic place.”