During the celebration of the 90th Academy Award last Sunday, ‘Una Mujer Fantástica’ (‘A Fantastic Woman’), was awarded the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. The film, which won the 31st TEDDY AWARD for best feature in 2017, is the work of Chilean director Sebastián Lelio. The Academy Award for a non-English speaking film has been given away since 1956 and ‘A Fantastic Woman’ is a landmark recipient in a number of respects; it’s the first first Chilean film to win the foreign-language Oscar, the first film with a trans themed plot to take home the prize, and lead actor Daniela Vega is the first openly transgender person to present an award on stage at the ceremony. Sebastián Lelio praised Daniela Vega as “the inspiration for this movie”. 
The story follows Marina (Daniela Vega), a transgender woman working as a waitress, who has a loving relationship with Orlando (Francisco Reyes), a divorced man 30 years her senior. Their affectionate love is brought to an abrupt end on the day of Orlando’s sudden death. In the aftermath of this tragedy, Marina is faced with the hatred of Orlando’s ex-wife and children. She fights simultaneously for her right to mourn her beloved one and against the prejudices and harassment from her late lover’s family. The film not only gives a sensitive portrayal of the universal right to grieve but also tells the intimate story of a trans women in today’s conservative Chile. On a broader level, the film highlights the transphobia and ignorance constituting every-day life for many transgender people around the world. Few would be able to leave the cinema unmoved by this touching story of love and loss. To learn more about the film, have a look at our interview with director Sebastián Lelio and lead actors Daniela Vega and FranciscoReyes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9VQLBKaP9Q
Tag Archives: transgender
XPOSED Interview
XPOSED festival directors Bart Sammut and Michael Stuetz about the festival’s history and this years festival programme interviewed by Philipp Schmidt/TeddyAward TV.
10th XPOSED International Queer Film Festival Berlin 2015
Welcome to the 10th XPOSED International Queer Film Festival Berlin and get ready for our Return to Oz!
To celebrate the release of the Program we are pleased to also share with you this years XPOSED Festival Trailer created by Marion Habringer.
About XPOSED International Queer Film Festival Berlin
Ten years of shaping, forming, breaking, discovering and finding XPOSED is about QUEER FILM in all it’s forms, glory, shame, distaste, trash and beauty. Sometimes it’s all in one and sometimes it’s spread out like Blanche at the Rusty Anchor.
XPOSED was started as a passion project, a passion for Queer Film, for Berlin and the ever expanding possibilities of storytelling within the world of Queer Film and the festival remains to this day a passion project. This festival is made by people who enjoy making festival, who enjoy queer films, filmmakers and queer Berlin, and this is reflected within the programming of the festival.
By not only screening some of the newest films around, XPOSED takes special care to always mix their programs with new and old films, be it in a short film program or a feature screening with a short. XPOSED enjoys creating programs and these programs can only be created by looking at the queer perspective from all corners of the world, perspectives that challenge normative views, propose an alternate way of thinking, and approach life and story telling from another way.
Created in 2006, the XPOSED International Queer Film Festival has built itself with the aim of creating entertaining, odd, left of centre Queer Film Programs that also in turn eXPOSE the Queer Filmmakers out into the international world of Queer Festivals and beyond. You can only be you when you are truly XPOSED. This festival, in the end, is about YOU.
Russia’s streets should become safer
In many parts of the world the people think, that especially the women are the worse car drivers. In Russia, they go one step further. In order to reduce the accident statistics, not everybody will be allowed to get a driver’s license in the land of Putin.
Mental disorders are listed and can lead to a driving ban. These include also transsexuals and transvestites. It’s new that the sexual orientation decides on the fitness to drive and that minorities are an danger to the traffic.
Besides this obvious discrimination there are more potential troublemakers on the traffic in Russia, according to the interdiction catalogue there are also pedophiles, kleptomaniacs and gambling addicts a danger on the roads. A sexual minority is lumped together with people having mental disorders and criminals.
But Putin even abides by an official list of the WHO. Disorders of adult and behaviour are listed in the ICD-10 under subsection F60 to F69 . Besides a number of mental disorders, transsexualism and transvestism are also listed. Although, the list will be edited in May it gives rise to some questions. Even homosexuality was listed for many years.
Hollywood’s homophobic side
How intolerant is Hollywood towards gay and transsexual people? A survey* among thousands of Hollywood actors followed this question. The result shows a doleful picture of the dream factory.
Discrimination and homophobic comments are almost on the agenda in Hollywood. A survey from the University of Los Angeles shows that more than half of the LG actors already have heard anti-gay comments. 53% of LGBT respondents believe that directors and producers are biased against
LGBT performers. The big challenge with the role search, the fear of a career crease and a prejudiced role picture turn many actor’s coming out into a difficult undertaking in Hollywood.
However, the survey shows a positive development too.
53 percent of lesbian and gay actors come out to their fellow actors. The majority generally supports LGBT people playing heterosexual and non-transgender roles. For example, 80% of respondents agreed that transgender women should be considered for roles written for women and that transgender men should be considered for roles written for men. Although the most actors are open-minded towards their LGBT fellow actors, especially the dream factory’s persons in response are those who aren’t always tolerant towards gay and transsexual people.
* M.V. Lee Badgett, Jody L. Herman: ‘Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Diversity in Entertainment: Experiences and Perspectives of SAG-AFTRA’