Trans In America: Chicago Love (ep 2)

Dryden, Lindsey ORCID: 0000-0002-9658-6805, Cronenwett, Cary and Kyi, Daresha (2018) Trans In America: Chicago Love (ep 2). [Film / Video]

Preview	Image (Trans In America Series Triptych copyright Little By Little Films) ACLU-Trans-Series-Collage-4-copyright-Little-By-Little-Films.jpg - Published Version Available under License All Rights Reserved. Download (1MB) | Preview
Preview	Image (Trans In America Eisha copyright Little By Little Films) 2018-10-10-Trans-in-America-Eisha.jpg - Published Version Available under License All Rights Reserved. Download (2MB) | Preview
Preview	Text (Trans In America Film Series Summary) Trans in America _ American Civil Liberties Union.pdf - Published Version Available under License All Rights Reserved. Download (361kB) | Preview
Preview	Text (Trans In America Film Series Broadcast Press Release) ACLU Trans Docs Broadcast Press Release 10 October 2018.pdf - Published Version Available under License All Rights Reserved. Download (896kB) | Preview
Preview	Text (Women & Hollywood article on Trans In America series) New ACLU Web Series Spotlights What It’...rans in America” _ Women and Hollywood.pdf - Other Download (6MB) | Preview
Preview	Text (Vada Magazine article on Trans In America) Trans in America by Lindsey Dryden showcases trans resilience – Vada Magazine.pdf - Other Download (647kB) | Preview
Preview	Text (Them article on Trans In America series) Them - What It's Like to Be a Black Trans Woman in America.pdf - Other Download (351kB) | Preview
Preview	Text (Gloucestershire Live article on Trans In America series and L Dryden) Gloucestershire filmmaker produces docu... battles in USA - Gloucestershire Live.pdf - Other Download (822kB) | Preview
Preview	Text (Stroud News & Journal article on Trans In America series and L Dryden) Transgender girl's bathroom battle told...ud filmmaker _ Stroud News and Journal.pdf - Other Download (787kB) | Preview

Abstract

Trans In America is a 3-part verite documentary series produced by Lindsey Dryden with the American Civil Liberties Union. It was broadcast on Conde Nast's new LGBTQ+ digital platform 'them.', and current viewing figures for the films are over 1.3 million. Dryden worked on the series for over a year, leading every element as the senior producer in close collaboration with the ACLU and with her production company Little By Little Films. Each film is directed by an LGBTQ+ filmmaker, produced by an inclusive and majority-LGBTQ+ production team, and informed by a panel of transgender advisors. The ACLU and Dryden selected directors Cary Cronenwett and Daresha Kyi. The 3 films in the series tell the intimate personal stories of 3 transgender individuals in the United States as they battle for their civil rights in their daily lives: 7-year-old Kai in Texas whose religious mother has to reject her community’s beliefs as Kai navigates life at school, where she’s been banned from the girls’ bathroom; Eisha in Chicago, who was incarcerated in a men’s jail after acting in self-defense. Now, as she rebuilds her life and continues to process the impact of her incarceration, she faces the challenge of trying to get a steady job as an out trans woman with a criminal record; and Jennifer, who lost her job after telling her employer she is transgender. She sued for discrimination but years later, having won a national victory in a case that will protect trans people across the nation, she finds herself alienated from her industry, and unable to make a living. The films directly connect to Dryden's key research interests around embodiment, sexuality and the so-called 'deviant body'; producing this series fed into her research on how society treats those with bodily experiences that are rebellious and non-conforming. The film team created unusual work practices, to try to enact their values in the filmmaking process as well as in the stories told and impact intended. They created bespoke contracts that allow the film subjects and directors a gratis license to use the footage for their own purposes (e.g. to make longer films or promote themselves), and bespoke release forms that promise to share any financial profits with the film subjects, should the series win awards money, for example. Monetary profit is unusual in short documentary, but they wanted to create this option in case of future gains, because film subjects should benefit from telling their stories. These practices are a work in progress, and underpinned by goals of progressiveness, equality and transparency for documentary production.

Item Type:	Film / Video
Additional Information:	Part of the Trans In America series (3 films)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	transgender, film, queer, cinema, documentary, LGBT, LGBTQ, LGBTQ+, trans, america, united states, body; REF2021
Related URLs:	Publisher
Related records:	Trans In America: Texas Strong (ep 1) Trans In America: Atlanta Drive (ep 3)
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1990 Broadcasting P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1993 Motion Pictures P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1995.9.DN Documentary Films
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Creative Arts
Research Priority Areas:	Culture, Continuity, and Transformation Creative Practice and Theory
Depositing User:	Lindsey Dryden
Date Deposited:	03 Dec 2018 15:11
Last Modified:	01 Aug 2021 21:45
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/6247

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