NO ORDINARY MAN
Streaming May 6 - May 8, 2021 throughout the United States
Live Q&A with directors Aisling Chin-Yee & Chase Joynt, Jamieson Green, Amos Mac, and Stephan Pennington: 5/6 @ 8:00 PM PST
Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt; 2020; Canada; 83 min.
This groundbreaking, collaborative doc is a creative look at the life of 1950s- and ’60s-era American jazz musician and trans culture icon Billy Tipton. Working with a who’s who of trans performers, artists, and writers—including Marquise Vilsón, Kate Bornstein, Zackary Drucker, Susan Stryker, and Ryan Cassata—directors Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt (whose short FRAMING AGNES won an audience award at Translations 2019) paint a uniquely kaleidoscopic portrait of a man who spent his life onstage—but hid in plain sight.
Through interviews and a film-within-a-film approach that features trans actors auditioning for the part of Tipton and contemplating his legacy, we see how the great musician’s influence carries on, passed from one generation to another. Trans legend Jamison Green shows up to make a stunning connection with Tipton’s adult son, Billy Jr., and the sweet grief and gratitude expressed does a community good.
NO ORDINARY MAN is a beautiful tribute and celebration of where we’ve been and where we are going, told with graceful innovation and joyful participation.
NO CONTENT WARNING
LIVE Q&A FEATURING:
Chase Joynt's short, FRAMING AGNES, made in collaboration with Kristen Schilt, won an audience award at Translations 2019.
Aisling Chin-Yee is an award-winning producer, writer, and director based in Montreal, Canada and Los Angeles, California. Aisling was named one of Canada’s Rising Film Stars by Now Magazine 2019.
Amos Mac is television writer (Story Editor) for the forthcoming series Gossip Girl on HBO Max. As an out transgender writer, Amos Mac’s work explores identity, community and “second coming of age” narratives though a queer lens. He’s worked across unscripted, documentary, and dramatic series including Amazon’s Transparent, AMC's The Son, and VICELAND’s Gaycation.
Jamison Green has been a leader and activist for transgender rights since the 1980's. His 2004 book Becoming a Visible Man received the 2004 Sylvia Rivera Award for best book in Transgender Studies from the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies and was also a finalist for a 2004 Lambda Literary Award.[8]
Stephan Pennington holds a PhD from UCLA and is a professor of musicology at Tufts University where he teaches courses that include History of African-American Music, Queer Pop, The History of Rock'n'Roll, Black Divas, Music of the International Jazz Age, and American Music.
This program is co-presented by NorthWest Film Forum, a nonprofit film and arts center
This program is sponsored by BECU
