REAL BOY Press Kit – August 2016
REAL BOY Press Kit – August 2016
REAL BOY Released 2016 TRT 72 min USA / English
Press Contact Shaleece Haas
[email protected] (510) 316-2687
Tagline A son’s transition. A mom’s transformation.
Synopsis
Bennett Wallace is a charismatic teenager on the brink of adulthood. As he navigates the ups and downs of gender transition and grapples with a history of substance abuse, Bennett embarks on a journey to find his voice—as a musician, a friend, a son, and a man. Filmed over four years, Real Boy follows the evolution of Bennett's relationship with his mother Suzy, who has deep misgivings about his transition. As Suzy struggles to come to terms with his decision, Bennett is taken under the wing of his idol Joe Stevens, a celebrated transgender musician fighting his own demons. Through observational storytelling that is alternately poignant and humorous, Real Boy explores the complexity of addiction, the healing power of music, and the importance of family, both given and chosen.
Awards Frameline Film Festival (USA) – Audience Award, Documentary Giffoni Film Festival (Italy) – Best Documentary Austin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (aGLIFF) (USA) – Audience Award Independent Film Festival Boston (USA) – Karen Schmeer Award for Excellence in Documentary Editing Oslo/Fusion (Norway) – Queer Youth Jury Prize qFLIX Philadelphia (USA) – Best Documentary Feature (First-Time Director) Rio Festival de Gênero & Sexualidade no Cinema (Brazil) – Best Direction
Publicity Materials (Photos, Poster, etc.) Publicity materials can be downloaded here: http://realboymovie.com/press/downloads/
Trailer
Link: https://vimeo.com/134142788 Trailer Embed code:
REAL BOY Press Kit – August 2016
Key Personnel Shaleece Haas, Director/Producer Shaleece is a documentary filmmaker based in Oakland, CA. Her films are marked by a balance of poignancy and humor, and by intimate character-driven storytelling that invites audiences deep into the interior worlds of their protagonists. Shaleece produced and directed the ITVS-funded film Real Boy (2016), which premiered at BFI Flare in London and will be broadcast nationally on PBS in 2017. She co-produced The Genius of Marian (2013; Tribeca, POV) and produced the short films Awardwinninggir (2012; SF DocFest) and City Fish (2011; Hot Docs, Documentary Channel). Shaleece associate produced Extreme by Design (2012, PBS) and The Art of Doing It Yourself (2011, PBS). Her documentary short, Old People Driving (2010, Mill Valley Film Festival), was broadcast on PBS News Hour as part of the Economist Film Project and won best documentary at the Phoenix Film Festival. Shaleece’s films have received support from ITVS, California Humanities, Berkeley Film Foundation, Fledgling Fund, Film Independent, IFP, among others. She is a 2015 Film Independent Documentary Lab Fellow, a 2012 Working Films (Reel Aging) Fellow and a 2010 Met Life Foundation Journalists in Aging Fellow. Shaleece is a member of Film Fatales (San Francisco chapter) and the Queer Producers Collective. In addition to filmmaking, Shaleece teaches at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and leads video storytelling workshops for the Berkeley Advanced Media Institute and the NY Press Association. Shaleece previously worked as an editorial photographer and radio producer and was a founding staff member of the national oral history project, StoryCorps. She is a graduate of the documentary film program at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. Charlotte Lagarde, Executive Producer Charlotte Lagarde’s producing credits include Deann Borshay Liem’s In The Matter of Cha Jung Hee (PBS/POV) and Carrie Lozano’s Academy Award-winning Reporter Zero, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. Her love of the ocean led her to document magnificent women surfers in her award-winning short films Zeuf (Sundance Channel) and Swell (CINE Golden Eagle Award). The feature-length documentary she directed about the Hawaiian surfing legend and breast cancer survivor Rell Sunn, Heart of the Sea, was broadcast in over 30 countries and won numerous awards including the PBS Independent Lens Audience Award and Best Documentary Award at the Ashland Independent Film Festival. Lagarde has received funding from ITVS, NEA and NEH. She is a Sundance and BAVC fellow and is on the Steering Committee of New Day Films. She earned a Masters degree in Documentary Film from Stanford University. Her latest documentary The Ballad of Fred Hersch premiered at the 2016 Full Frame Film Festival. She is currently collaborating with artist Jen Bervin on the video component for the Silk Poems, which will open in an exhibition at MASS MoCA in May 2016.
REAL BOY Press Kit – August 2016
Andrew Gersh, Editor Andrew Gersh is a documentary editor based in Berkeley, California. His work has appeared on PBS, ABC, MSNBC, National Geographic, Discovery, Turner Broadcasting, the BBC and Channel 4, UK and in theaters worldwide. He is a Sundance Institute Documentary Edit and Story Lab Fellow. He began his editing career on staff at WGBH in Boston, working on many groundbreaking series for PBS, including NOVA, FRONTLINE and the ten-hour WGBH/BBC co-production on the history of Rock & Roll. Andrew edited The Revolutionary Optimists, which was nominated for a 2014 Emmy, awarded the Hilton Worldwide LightStay Sustainability Award at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, and aired nationally on PBS’ Independent Lens, followed by ITVS Community Cinema screenings and a national theatrical release. His 2013 documentary SPARK: A Burning Man Story premiered at the 2013 SXSW Film Festival, was an official selection to both Seattle International and Ashland Independent film festivals, and was the opening night film of the 2013 San Francisco DocFest. Other work includes Johnny Symons’ Ask Not (San Francisco International Film Festival, MoMA, PBS’ Independent Lens), Daddy Don’t Go (DOC NYC, Cleveland International Film Festival) and Ready, Set, Bag! (Los Angeles International Film Festival). Sam Berliner, Associate Producer Sam Berliner is a Bay Area-based filmmaker and animator best known for his engaging and accessible films about gender non-conformity. His award-winning shorts FLOAT, Dating Sucks: A Genderqueer Misadventure, Gender busters, and Perception have screened at over 100 film festivals around the world and are distributed by CFMDC and Frameline Voices. When not actively making films, he is the festival director of Translations: the Seattle Transgender Film Festival. Sam also speaks about media and gender at various organizations and schools. Sam graduated from Smith College with a BA in Film & Theatre and earned an MFA in Cinema from San Francisco State University. Kyle Ranson-Walsh, Associate Producer Kyle Ranson-Walsh spent a decade at Pixar Animation Studios helping bring animated films to the screen including Academy Award®-winning features Ratatouille, WALL•E, and UP, and Golden Globe®-nominated Cars 2. Most recently he worked on the producing team for Pixar’s short film The Blue Umbrella. Kyle also produced the award-winning live action short, Cologne, which premiered at Frameline 2013 and won “Most Innovative Short Film” at Seattle’s Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Since leaving Pixar, Kyle has worked as an independent producer, director, and strategist based in Brooklyn. Kyle is a proud graduate of the University of Virginia and the California College of the Arts’ innovative MBA in Design Strategy program. William Ryan Fritch, Composer William Ryan Fritch is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has scored and contributed music to numerous critically acclaimed narrative and documentary films (e.g. the Independent Spirt award winning The Waiting Room, and Cannes Cinéfondation prize winning Skunk). His music has been featured in television shows and miniseries for CBS, IFC, Showtime, Discovery, AMC, AXS TV, Al Jazeera and PBS as well as for numerous dance and theatre productions, art installations and in national ad campaigns and PSAs.
REAL BOY Press Kit – August 2016
In addition to his commissioned multimedia work, he has a very active recording career, releasing numerous Psych-Folk, Contemporary Classical, and Experimental recordings under his own name and under the moniker Vieo Abiungo. His distinct, organic sound is the product of his unique talents as an instrumentalist and recordist, utilizing a vast and varied arsenal of live, acoustic instrumentation to fully realize his compositions as a solo endeavor. Molly Schwartz, Animator Molly Schwartz animates, designs, composites, codes, and creates special effects for work ranging from documentary film titles, film poster design, motion graphics, animation, compositing and special effects, installation design and site specific projection mapping. Her team (she was lead animator and designer) won a Sundance Special Jury Award for Animation January 2014 for the documentary film Watchers of the Sky. Recent film projects include Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, CODE: Debugging the Gender Gap, A Good Job: Stories from the FDNY, Back on Board, The Abominable Crime, and CANCER: Emperor of All Maladies. Schwartz is an adjunct professor teaching at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program. She also shows her animated videos, drawings, interactive artworks in public art commissions, installations, exhibitions and festivals worldwide.
Production Credits
PRODUCED & DIRECTED BY Shaleece Haas EDITOR Andrew Gersh EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Charlotte Lagarde ORIGINAL SCORE William Ryan Fritch ANIMATION Molly Schwartz ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS Sam Berliner Kyle Ranson-Walsh DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Shaleece Haas LOCATION SOUND Lauretta Molitor Jonathan Hong Kent Pope Sam Berliner Tom Gorman
REAL BOY Press Kit – August 2016
ADDITIONAL CAMERA Clare Major Lincoln Else Kate Kunath Avery Hudson Carmen Osterlye ADDITIONAL EDITING Kevin Oliver CONSULTING PRODUCER Marc Smolowitz CONSULTING EDITORS Don Bernier Toby Shimin FUNDING TRAILER EDITORS Kevin Oliver Sally Rubin ASSISTANT EDITOR Theresa Desautels PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS Alex Safron Dominic Joseph Shayan Akbari POST-PRODUCTION SUPPORT Susan Cohen Semany Gashaw Jen Gilomen Brianna Nelson A. Q. Quintero Camilla Savoia Melina Tupa KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN SUPPORT Annie Bush, Production for Use Rose Slam! Johnson Alex Chousa Joey Gonzalez CONSULTING PRODUCER FOR ITVS N’Jeri Eaton SUPERVISING PRODUCER FOR ITVS David Eisenberg EXECUTIVE PRODUCER FOR ITVS
REAL BOY Press Kit – August 2016
Sally Jo Fifer TRANSCRIPTION Julie Lagarde TRANSLATION John Kane Jason Plourde Grace Small Zanna Williams ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE AND STILLS PROVIDED BY Sen Beever David Butler II James Clayton Daniel Connolly Coyote Grace Dylan Engle Trevyn Madrone Heather Miller Nik and Del Pond5 Suzy Reinke Sara Stell Joe Stevens Bennett Wallace MOTION GRAPHICS Picturebox Productions Mike Nicholson AUDIO POST-PRODUCTION Berkeley Sound Artists RERECORDING MIXERS James LeBrecht Dan Olmstead DIALOG EDITOR Erik Reimers SOUND EFFECTS EDITORS Bijan Sharifi Taylor Gruver DIGITAL INTERMEDIATE Color A Go-Go, San Francisco DI COLORIST Kent Pritchett
REAL BOY Press Kit – August 2016
DI PRODUCER Kim Salyer DI CONFORM ARTIST Albert Frates LEGAL SERVICES Blyth, Lee & Associates Justine Jacob ACCOUNTING SERVICES Daniel Bao INSURANCE SERVICES Hammond, Martin, Walsh & Smith Larry A. Walsh ORIGINAL SONGS “Fear Not My Love” written and performed by Bennett Wallace “A Guy Named Joe” written by Joe Stevens performed by Coyote Grace “Land of the Opportune” written by Bennett Wallace performed by Bennett Wallace & Joe Stevens “Goodnight Lady” written by Joe Stevens performed by Coyote Grace “For My Family” written and performed by Bennett Wallace ADDITIONAL MUSIC “Zuma” (Instrumental) written by Joe Stevens performed by Coyote Grace published by Mile After Mile Records (BMI) “Born Blind” written by Joe Stevens performed by Coyote Grace published by Mile After Mile Records (BMI) “Heaven Dog” (Instrumental) written by Joe Stevens performed by Coyote Grace published by Mile After Mile Records (BMI) “Fear Not My Love” written by Bennett Wallace performed by Bennett Wallace, Allie Corcovelos & Joe Stevens
REAL BOY Press Kit – August 2016
FISCAL SPONSORSHIP PROVIDED BY San Francisco Film Society Swell Cinema PRODUCTION SUPPORT PROVIDED BY Film Independent IFP Rough Cuts SF FUNDING PROVIDED BY ITVS California Humanities California Institute for Contemporary Arts Pacific Pioneer Fund Berkeley Film Foundation Fledgling Fund +908 Kickstarter backers Real Boy is a co-production of Shaleece Haas and Independent Television Service (ITVS), with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
REAL BOY Press Kit – August 2016
GLAAD Media Reference Guide In Focus: Covering the Transgender Community From the GLAAD Media Reference Guide (http://www.glaad.org/reference) UCLA's Williams Institute estimates there are 1.4 million transgender people in the United States. But according to a GLAAD/Harris Interactive poll, only 16% of Americans say they personally know someone who is transgender. A recent Pew poll shows that 87% of Americans say they personally know someone who is lesbian, gay, or bisexual. If a stereotypical or defamatory LGB image appears in the media, viewers can compare it to real people they know. But when a stereotypical or defamatory transgender image appears in the media, the viewer may assume that all transgender people are actually like that; they have no real-life experience with which to compare it. Transgender issues can be complicated, but GLAAD staff are always available to answer questions, provide resources, and identify spokespeople. Below are some basic tips for writing fair and accurate stories about transgender people.
Basics of Writing a Transgender Story Language is important. Using accurate terminology is the first step toward creating a respectful story about transgender people. You can find basic terms, along with guidelines on name and pronoun usage and a list of defamatory and offensive terms to avoid here: http://www.glaad.org/reference/transgender. More resources for journalists may be found at glaad.org/transgender. Moving beyond the coming out narrative. People who have just come out publicly as transgender are considered newsworthy, but they are often not ready for media attention, nor are they ready to speak about larger issues facing the diverse trans community. Consider interviewing people who have chosen to take leadership roles in the community – with all the responsibility that entails. Furthermore, the "coming out narrative" has been covered thoroughly since Christine Jorgensen came back from Europe in 1952. Just as coverage of the LGB community now focuses on many different aspects of being gay, lesbian, or bisexual, the media is encouraged to look for stories about transgender people that go beyond "when did you know" and "what surgeries have you had." Avoid focusing on medical issues. It is inappropriate to ask a transgender person questions about their genitals or other surgeries they may have had. Typically those questions are only asked out of prurient curiosity. They also distract the journalist and the viewer from seeing the
REAL BOY Press Kit – August 2016
whole person – and from discussing larger issues that affect transgender people like discrimination, poverty, and violence. Do not characterize being transgender as a mental disorder. Neither the American Psychiatric Association nor the American Psychological Association considers simply being transgender a "mental disorder." Describing the fact that someone is transgender. Transgender should always be used as an adjective. For example, "Susan is a transgender woman." If your audience needs clarification about what that phrase means, you can explain, "Susan was designated male at birth, and began her transition 15 years ago." Avoid "Susan was born a man." People are born babies and a doctor decides the sex based on a quick look at the external anatomy. But a transgender person's gender is much more complicated than a simple glance at external anatomy can capture. One's biology does not "trump" one's gender identity, and oversimplifications like "born a man" seem to invalidate the current, authentic gender of the person you're speaking about. Disclosing birth names. When a transgender person's birth name is used in a story, the implication is almost always that this is the person's "real name." In fact, a transgender person's chosen name is their real name - whether they are able to obtain a court-ordered name change or not. Many people use names they've chosen for themselves, and the media does not mention their birth name when writing about them, (e.g., Lady Gaga, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg). Transgender people should be accorded the same respect. When writing about a transgender person's chosen name, do not say "she wants to be called," "she calls herself," "she goes by Susan," or other phrases that cast doubt on the transgender person's identity. Illustrating your story and headlines. In almost every instance it is unnecessary to show before and after pictures of the person being profiled. Often these images are simply included to satisfy the curiosity of readers or viewers, and in most cases they add nothing to the story. Similarly, avoid clichéd images of transgender women putting on make-up, wigs, and panty hose, and shots of transgender men shaving. These types of photos connote that being transgender is simply a superficial, external matter. Being transgender is not about clothing, make-up, and shaving. With headlines, it is often necessary to save space and simplify. However, it's very easy to ruin a well-written, nuanced story with a headline that resorts to clichés and offensive language. Try to avoid phrases like "sex change" or "born a man" in headlines. Bringing in expert opinion. Be cautious inviting non-transgender guests to talk about transgender people – instead of talking to transgender people. Transgender people are the experts to talk about transgender people. You don't always need a medical or psychological "expert" to speak about transgender people, but if you'd like a medical or psychological perspective, there are many transgender doctors and psychologists who can speak with authority. Integrating transgender people into non-trans stories. While it is true that there are many social issues that must be addressed before transgender people are treated equally – it is also true that transgender people live day-to-day lives just like everyone else. When being transgender is just one of the many facts that make someone unique, we will move closer to acceptance. If you are doing a story about women in tech or Mother's Day, consider including a transgender woman in those stories. Transgender people can also be booked to talk about issues that are not trans-specific. Jenny Boylan regularly writes op-ed columns for the The New York
REAL BOY Press Kit – August 2016
Times on a variety of non-trans issues. Janet Mock is a contributing editor at Marie Claire, where she covers a variety of topics.
Social Issues Facing Transgender People
Transgender people, particularly transgender women, are disproportionately affected by hate violence. In 2015, 21 transgender women were murdered, and 67% of LGBT homicide victims were transgender women, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. As of September 2016, an additional 21 transgender people have been killed. The majority were transgender women of color. For information on covering stories where a transgender person has been the victim of a crime please see the In Focus section on Hate Crimes (http://www.glaad.org/reference/hatecrimes) and our report "Doubly Victimized: Reporting on Transgender Victims of Crime." Transgender people face high levels of discrimination and poverty. According to the largest national survey of transgender people, the community experiences unemployment at twice the rate of the general population, with rates for people of color up to four times the national unemployment rate. Transgender people are four times more likely to live in poverty. Ninety percent of trans people report experiencing harassment, mistreatment or discrimination on the job. Forty-one percent of respondents reported attempting suicide, compared to 1.6% of the general population. More statistics from this survey may be found at http://www.thetaskforce.org/reports_and_research/ntds Access to healthcare is extremely limited for transgender people. The American Medical Association has stated that treatment for gender dysphoria is medically necessary and involves changing the body to align with a person's gender identity (their internal sense of being a man or a woman.) Trying to change a person's gender identity is no more successful than trying to change a person's sexual orientation - it just doesn't work. However, private insurance companies treat transition-related medical care as if it is cosmetic - regularly inserting "transgender exclusion clauses" into health insurance plans making access to care difficult, if not impossible, for most transgender people. Several states, including California, Illinois, and Massachusetts, have issued regulations ordering insurance companies to cover medical care for transgender people - but even in those states many transition-related treatments may still not be covered. Improving access to healthcare is a high priority for the transgender community.
