Trans in Film and Video 6/27/22
Kai Shappley, the trans girl featured in the Emmy-winning documentary about her life, Trans in America: Texas Strong, and several other documentaries has decided to add “actress” to her resume that is already filled with her activities as an author and activist. Kai, who will be eleven in December of this year, has signed with the talent agency CAA for exclusive representation. Learn more about Kai and her upcoming book and other activities from The Hollywood Reporter.
P-Valley is a show that airs Sundays on Starz. The series was created by Katori Hall and is an adaptation of Hall’s play, Pussy Valley. The show follows several people who work at a strip club in the Mississippi Delta. One of the characters is the the non-binary club owner Uncle Clifford. She mixes gender and doesn’t care what anyone thinks about her presentation. She is portrayed by non-binary actor Nicco Annan who has been involved in the creation of the show going back to when it was a play. For more info on P-Valley check out Yahoo Entertainment.
We’re Here is a series on HBO that puts three drag queens on the streets of small town America. The premise of the show is simple, Drag Race veterans Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka and Shangela arrive in a small town in a conservative part of the country, seek out the LGBTQ+ community and allies there and then perform in a drag show. Recently the queens showed up in Selma, Alabama and as part of the drag show they produce Bob the Drag Queen came on stage to perform to Willow Smith’s song Whip My Hair. She sported an enormous Afro. Why was her hair so large? It was hiding Bob’s 11-year-old niece who was under it. After the wig came off she joined Bob as a dance partner. Learn more about the show and the stunt from Variety.
100% USDA Certified Organic Home-Made Tofu is a short film that tells the story of Nicki, a wannabe high class transgender woman in Los Angeles who needs money for breast augmentation surgery since her sugar daddy won’t help her out. She swallows her pride, rolls up her designer sleeves and takes a job at her estranged mother’s run-down restaurant in Koreatown. The film is part of Rising Voices 2022 and was directed by Nigerian director and multimedia artist Gbenga Komolafe. Get the whole story in Variety.
Four years ago ABC’s General Hospital cast trans actress Cassandra James as Terry Randolph — the first trans actor to play a trans character in daytime television. James worked with the General Hospital writers to make sure they presented a trans character with accuracy. “I was given permission quite early on to reach out if there’s ever anything I felt needed nuancing or changing or massaging,” the actress says. “I felt so included and that has made me feel really safe as a trans person at the show but also respected and invited as an artist to participate in making Terry the best she can be.” Watch a video interview with James on the TV Insider website.
The 14th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race is a big step forward for trans representation. The show premiered with just two trans queens, Kerri Colby and Kornbread, but as the season moved forward, they were joined by three others; Bosco, Jasmine Kennedie and Willow Pill. The most trans-inclusive cast on any season to date. Then Willow Pill was crowned America’s Drag Race Superstar, and she became the first out transgender winner of the main Drag Race franchise. Learn more about the trans contestants from Variety.
Category: Transgender Fun & Entertainment