Lisset Barcellos' Film "Both"

[Peter]

Today, I read an announcement in the San Francisco Chronicle about an upcoming film festival. The article says:

"The intersex community gets a voice in "Both", the story of a Preuvian American, played by Jackie Parker, who learns that she was born a hermaphrodite and that the boy in her family pictures - the brother her parents told her about - is actually her. It screens June 22 at the Victoria."

The ISNA website has more information about when and where this full-length feature film is to be screened. I found the following comments by Lisset while searching the internet:

"Barcellos says she enjoys telling stories visually. But she also has a mission: "I think the portrayal of Latinos is plagued with negative stereotypes, and that doesn't reflect the diversity and complexity of people of flesh and bone. As a filmmaker, I want my characters to be ambiguous, complex and three-dimensional."

Peter

[Dana Gold]

I came across Lisset's previous (or is it the same and a re-make/sequel?) film in the below thread and link posted some time ago.

http://www.planetout.com/pno/popcorn...ilm.html?63812

http://www.bodieslikeours.org/forums...ght=borderline


During that thread's posting, one could click on and view the appx 2-minute film on the PlanetOut site, which was quite dramatic.

PS: After a quick search (and subsequent edit) I found this website of the Both Project....where you can download trailers....and yes, it seems to be based upon the original Borderline movie.

http://www.solaris-films.com/filmmakers.htm

Dana

[Peter]

Thanks for the interesting links. I believe that the film "Both" started out with a project title of "Borderline".

Peter

[Lisset]

Hi Guys,

This is Lisset, the director of BOTH (it used to be called BORDERLINE). I hope you all can attend and / or promote the screenings of my film.

New Fest The New York International LGBT Film Festival
Saturday June 4th 8:15 pm
Loews Cineplex Entertainment
34th Street Theater

Frameline The San Francisco LGBT International Film Festival
Wednesday June 22nd 8:15 pm
Victoria Theater

Outfest The Los Angeles LGTB International Film Festival
Tuesday July 12th 9:15 pm
Directors Guild of America 2 (DGA)
Thursday July 14th 9:30 pm
Village Theater


For more info, check my site: solaris-films.com

The film premiered 2 weeks ago in Toronto and the reception was awesome. We had an standing ovation! I will see you at the screenings. Love, Lisset

[nimo6211]

Cool! We actually have a celebrity in our midst. Wild horses couldn't keep me away.

[Peter]

WARNING: Don't read this if you want the plot to be a surprise.

Last night, I saw Lisset Barcellos' new film "BOTH" as part of the Frame line Film festival in San Francisco. The film, through the character of Rebeca Duarte (Jackie Parker) explores the life of a young intersex person coming to terms with her hidden past.

The film, which is beautifully made, starts with scenes of Rebeca's job as a stunt double working on Indie films in San Francisco. In a sensitive manner, that does not exploit the fact that the character is intersex, the story traces the on-going sexual frustration of bi-sexual Rebeca through a series of sexual scenes.

Early in the film, Rebeca receives a photo album from Peru where she was born. In it are photographs of a "brother" that her parents had told her had "died" at the age of three. This was at about the time the family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area.

At about the same time, Rebeca meets the daughter of a friend, named Morgan. When Rebeca sees Morgan peeing standing up, she confronts the mother about Morgan's sexuality. The mother has a very enlightened attitude towards the matter. She says that her daughter has a penis, and that she may develop either as a man or woman at puberty, but it's no big deal. I remember saying something to the person sitting next to me, about how I wish I had parents like that.

Meeting with the friend's daughter apparently brings back to Rebeca's mind memories of overhearing a conversation when she was young, where her parents used the word "hermaphrodite". She continues to explore her past, and discovers that she is in fact the bother who had supposedly died at the age of three, but had really undergone surgical sex re-assignment. The death was a cover story told to a wide range of relatives. There are great scenes where she gets hold of her medical records that detail her sex re-assignment, where she confronts the surgeon who did the surgery, and where she eventually confronts her mother with the truth about her past surgery. These are all great scenes that will probably be highlighted in intersex film history for many years to come. In the end, she flies back to Peru to meet with her grandmother, who is the person who sent her the mystery photo album at the beginning of the film.

Lisset Barcellos got the story right, and the actress Jackie Parker did a great job of portraying the main character. It was a very thoughtful performance. Lisset Barcellos was asked in a Q&A session after the screening, if the film was autobiographical. She answered that it is not autobiographical, but that she is herself an intersex person with a condition different than the one portrayed in the film. Later that evening, I mentioned to Cheryl Chase that the story seemed close to her own story. She smiled and confirmed that she had worked as a technical consultant on the film. Intersex activist, David Cameron deserves special mention as a sponsor of the film. I hope that the film is widely distributed and becomes available on DVD.

Peter

[Morgan]

Hey, great name for the friend's daughter

I hope the film gets released internationally...

Er, as well as Canada.

Morgan

[Carolyn]

My partner and I saw both at the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival along with several ISNA friends.

As an intersexed adult, the experience of seeing a character on screen who represents some of my own story is powerful. Lisset has told an important story with sensitivity, personal reflection and raw emotion. It is hard to put into words how important this film is to intersexed people and those who love us.

Jackie Parker, who plays Rebecca, is kind and sensitive. In her appearance for Q&A after the film, She was a charming and honest representative of her character and intersexed issues.

I love the character of Morgan, and her family. I was that little girl, peeing standing up. Seeing the love, security and trust her family showed her is nothing short of healing.

I loved Both, and recommend it to everyone, not only allies in the GLBT community but doctors, nurses, therapists, parents, families, friends, teachers...

Thanks,
Carolyn

[Morgan]

Following the link for Solaris Films, I've just found out that 'Both' is showing at the Mardi Gras fesival in Sydney early next year.

CC - I'll might see you before you see this message - but how would you like to go along to see it? Both dates listed are Thursdays: 16 February and 2 March.

The showing dates for Both are here: http://www.solaris-films.com/news.htm

Morgan