Another collection of shorts! This time, it's a collection of short films that all deal with trans issues. "Transtastic!" is an annual series -- last year, my friend Ethan debuted his film dealing with trans health care issues (see my review of the session here). This year, I signed up because I knew me and my friends would go. I didn't take care to look at the selection of shorts -- in hindsight, I should have. This was perhaps the worst collection of films -- barring one truly outstanding short -- I have seen in recent memory. There are some par-for-the-course pieces, but a number of *disastrous* films made for a pretty unhappy experience. I promised my friend Jackson I wouldn't give anything less than one star because the films all featured trannies. Keep that in mind! lol

"AMONG COLORS AND RAZORS"
Director: Catarina Accioly, Ibere Carvalmo
Trevor's Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars

This was a cute and colorful Brazillian film following the budding romance of a citybus fare collector and a tall, gangly hairdresser by the name of Antony. He invites her into the salon for a free haircut, and the rest, as they say, is history. It's charming, but the editing is a bit choppy and disjointed, creating a kind of jarring viewing experience. The color here is wonderful though, as is the celluloid deliciousness of the film (it was shot with 35mm). And Antony and Esperança are delightful and a treat to watch. It's a fun film, despite a few technical flaws.

You can watch the Portuguese trailer here:

"BEING LISA"
Director: Gene Hosington, Becca Louisell

Trevor's Rating: 1 / 5 Stars

Hands down, one of the worst and most trite films I've seen in my life. Seriously bad. I don't even know what to say. It had all the cliches you could possibly imagine in a film dealing with a transwoman. Every. Single. One. Lisa goes on a date with Jason. It goes well. He invites her to friend's birthday party. Friend freaks out when he finds out she's trans, and sexually harrasses her in the bathroom. She runs out (in slow motion, no less), and Jason runs after her. This film felt straight out of a 1985 PSA. Sigh.

"BIG DEAL"
Director: Hilary Goldberg

Trevor's Rating: 3 / 5 Stars

Katastrophe is a trans music rapper / artist here in the Bay Area who's well known around town for his hip-hop beats. "Big Deal" has a touch of electro-trip-hop thrown in for spunk, and the song is generally catchy. The video itself is cute, a retelling of Andy Warhol's attempted murder back in the 1960s, with Katastrophe playing Warhol with aplomb. It's cuteness comes complete with glitter blood. An extra half-star for that.

You can watch the whole thing here:

"BLINK"
Director: Silas Howard
Trevor's Rating: 4 / 5 Stars

Blink is a tension-filled short that gives us a glimpse into a first crush. It was definitely one of the more polished entries here in Transtastic!, and the efforts paid off. It was sexy, dark, and creepy. Sexual tension drips from the film, complete with a skinhead brother intensely greasing up and cleaning his gun. Amazing stuff. But despite it's high-quality production value, the story felt a bit underdeveloped. But for 11 minutes, I guess that's part of the package!

"KADEN LATER"
Director: Harriet Storm
Trevor's Rating: 5 / 5 Stars

Hands down, the best documentary short I've seen in years. This film is so incredibly fabulous, I'm not even sure where to begin. Here we get a glimpse into the life of Kaden and his partner Monika. Kaden is struggling with trying to maintain a genderfuck presentation while also desiring to take testosterone. Monika wants a "normal" life in the suburbs. There's wonderful tensions and contradictions here, which is truly the best part. Too often we get an edited, "messaged" version of people's lives in documentaries without any of the doubts or anxieties that come with living a queer life. But these tensions are on full display here, and it's beautiful. This film would be a wonderful asset as an "educational" documentary for students RE: gender / trans issues, and I intend to get my hands on it for that reason. It's a real treat.

"L1FE" & "TELL ME THE..."
Directors: Aarin Burch ("L1fe"), Bobby Poirier ("Tell me the...")
Trevor's Rating: 1.5 / 5 Stars

Whoa! Backstreet's back, alright! Joshua Klipp is a trans performing artist who has singlehandedly resurrected 1990s boyband pop all by his lonesome. I mean, it's kind of amazing for the way he brashly goes for cheese without a hint of irony or embrassment. But there's got to be a limit! In any case, Klipp is a hottie and fun to look at. But I left my Backstreet Boys days behind me. Unfortunately for him, so did the rest of America.

Just watch for yourself:

"MICHELLE'S FIRST WEDDING IN A DRESS"
Director: Ann von Hagemann
Trevor's Rating: 1 / 5 Stars

Director Ann von Hagemann told the audience before the screening that she "just wanted everyone to see my wife the way I do!" Clearly, Ann loves her wife very much, and it shows here. But as a cinematic endeavor, the film is, well, kind of terrible. Not to mention the absolute horror of the cliched narratives that keep spewing from her wife's mouth (e.g "Most trans people aren't lucky and never find love") and the suckiness of her judgmental politics (e.g. "I'm so glad I'm not one of those spikey haired, freaky trannies"). Jesus. Well we see her, Ann! I'm just not sure we all share your love.

"TRANSPROOFED"
Director: Andrea James
Trevor's Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars

I love Calpernia Addams, and she certainly shines here as the star of a movie about a transwoman anxious about going on a date with a straight man. She calls her friend and mentor to help her "transproof" her apartment, which ends up meaning removing all traces of color, happiness, and fun from the space. What's left after their frenzy is a drab, beige depressingness. This is a really cute film, and as I said I have a lot of love for Addams. But again I think we get a lackluster and perhaps a bit melodramatic ending here that just doesn't do the film justice.

"TRANSPLOITATION"
Director: Rachel Matlow
Trevor's Rating: 2.5 / 5 Stars

This film is an attempt to mock the ways that cinema has treated trans subjects in often exploitative ways. We follow Kaleb -- who bears at times an eery resemblance to Perez Hilton -- who laments the various ways he's exploited in our culture. The film's funniest moment is probably him at the grocery store, complaining against the transgender harassment he finds evidenced by the "No Trans Fat" trend. Very cute. But the film never makes clear who the targets of the critique are. Trans people? Trans filmmakers? Non-trans filmmakers? Is the underlying claim that trans lives really aren't so hard at all? Or is the claim that trans hardships have simply been exaggerated for filmmakers gain? None of these questions are ever answered clearly, and that makes the film's message ambiguously dangerous. You could imagine some folks walking away thinking trans people's complaints are a wholesale joke. But I'm sure that's not what the filmmaker attempted.