"Casting Pearls" London premiere on 5 April

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Above: Calpernia Addams in “Casting Pearls."

Deep Stealth Productions’ short film “Casting Pearls” will have its London premiere on 5 April 2008, as part of the 22nd London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.

The Role I Was Born to Play
Transgender artists challenge Hollywood with stinging media critiques.

Casting Pearls (Dir. Andrea James | USA 2007 | 7min)
A punchy series of Hollywood auditions reveals the stereotypes faced by a transsexual actress.

The Role I Was Born to Play (Dir. Lukas Blakk | Canada 2007 | 9min)
A clever and heartfelt deconstruction of mainstream Hollywood genderbender flicks.

F. Scott Fitzgerald Slept Here (Dir. Jules Rosskam | USA 2007 | 25min)
A white FTM poet and a Black gay physicist question the limits of their intimate friendship during a weekend trip.

Godspeed (Dir. Lynn Breedlove, Jen Gilomen | USA 2007 | 16min)
A punk bike messenger’s devotion to his drug habit rivals the intensity of his relationship with his girlfriend.

Miggy n Lil (Dir. bug Davidson | USA 2006 | 17min)
A Texan butcher’s dreams come true when a sexy thief stops by for some steak.

Also playing on 4 April is Beautiful Daughters, about Deep Stealth’s 2004 all-transgender performance of The Vagina Monologues.

Beautiful Daughters

The empowering process of constructing and performing an all-trans version of The Vagina Monologues forms the basis of this uplifting documentary. Making the point that ‘queer issues and women’s issues are our issues’, the new monologues draw clear links between sexism, homophobia and transphobia.

The play featured in Ariel Jordan and Josh Aronson’s film was produced by creative duo Andrea James and Calpernia Addams, who together with the creator of the original monologues, Eve Ensler, work collaboratively with a diverse group of trans women to make an entirely new piece. As the day of the performance draws near, big life decisions get made, a vibrant piece of theatre is formed and a community finds a strong collective voice.

Beautiful Daughters is screening with the short “Whatever Suits You”:

Beautiful Daughters (Dir. Josh Aronson | USA 2006 | 61min)
A group of trans women collaborate to form a vibrant piece of theatre.

Whatever Suits You (Dir. Ashley Altadonna | USA 2006 | 7min)
The transformation of a suit to a dress reflects one woman’s physical, mental, and emotion transition.

Deep Stealth’s Calpernia Addams is scheduled to appear at both screenings. Please check Calpernia’s blog for the latest updates.

22nd London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival website:
http://www.bfi.org.uk/llgff/