Assume Nothing
81 minutes /
Ages 13+ /
2009 /
New Zealand /
Average:
Documentaries / Foreign / LGBTQ
What if "male" and "female" are not the only options - how do other genders express themselves through art?
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Kirsty MacDonald
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Many of us assume that there are only two genders and that being female or male follows from the sex of our biological bodies. Inspired by the photographs of acclaimed New Zealand photographer Rebecca Swan, Assume Nothing focuses on the art, photography and performances of five "alternative" gender artists of Maori, Samoan-Japanese, and Pakeha-European descent, posing the questions: "What if "male" and "female" are not the only options? How do other genders express themselves through art?" Intimate present-day interviews and actuality are interspersed with lush Super-8, 2-D and 3-D animations and beautifully staged performances - blurring the conventions of documentary, animation, drama and gender in the process. Meticulously crafted, playful and provocative, Assume Nothing travels from Wellington’s Red Rocks to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to explore the potent creative world that flourishes between and beyond genders.
Crew
Camera: Chris PryorSound: Chris Pryor
Editor: Kirsty MacDonald
Music: Claire Cowan
Music: James Webster
2-D Animation: James Frankham
3-D Animation: Abi Gee
3-D Animation: Carol Petrie
3-D Animation: Jon Thorsen
Super-8 Animation: Chris Pryor
Super-8 Animation: Kirsty MacDonald
Additional Sound: Adrian Hollay
Production Assistant: Prisca Bouchet
Additional Camera: Prisca Bouchet
Vancouver International Film Festival -- Official Selection
Leipzig DOK Festival -- Official Selection
Rhode Island International Film Festival -- Official Selection
Mix Brazil - Festival of Sexual Diversity (Sao Paulo, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia) -- Official Selection
Intl. Transgender Film Festival (Amsterdam, Netherlands) -- Official Selection
Festival de Cinema Gay e Lesbico de Lisboa (Lisbon, Portugal) -- Official Selection
Portland LGBT Film Festival -- Official Selection
Toronto Inside Out Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival -- Official Selection
Toronto Female Eye Film Festival -- Best Documentary Feature
San Francisco Frameline -- Official Selection
Downtown Film Festival (Los Angeles) -- Official Selection
Ellensberg Film Fest -- Official Selection
Paris Transgender Film Festival (Paris, France) -- Official Selection
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2 weeks, 3 days ago
This film is like being on a journey. Great way to deal with the subject of gender diversity - through the image.