Before trans representation was something the mainstream media had ever considered, before Caitlin Jenner, before Chaz Bono, but after Boys Don’t Cry, The Crying Game, Ace Ventura (and too many transphobic films to count) there was “Riot Acts.”
(And there was Susan Stryker and Leslie Feinberg!)
Log
Riot Acts is a ‘trans-fabulous’ rockumentary representing the multi-faceted lives of transgender and gender variant musicians. A first-hand perspective of the intersections between gender performance and stage performance, Riot Acts suggests that identities and bodies are undeniably political, and the journey within a trans experience isn’t always one of tragedy, but one of creativity and joy.
Synopsis
Representing the complex lives of transgender and gender variant musicians, each story is one of a journey in progress through a first-hand perspective of the intersections between gender performance and stage performance. The performers featured in Riot Acts are talented, inspiring, sexy, critical and three-dimensional in a manner that purposefully counters the vision of isolation and destitution frequently portrayed in mainstream media. As transpeople ourselves, the producers seek to capture trans and gender nonconforming identities as complexly as they are embodied and performed, both on and off the stage.
Musicians discuss songwriting, voice presentation, coping with voice changes, passing/not passing, presenting a body/bodies on stage, audiences, venues, the idea of the spectacle, societal and media representation, performing gender and notions about “drag,” and the personal as political, culminating with the notion that the trans experience isn’t always one of tragedy.
Whether a personal journey, a political journey, or a literal journey, the aspect of travel, through years or miles, is a binding stylistic element throughout Riot Acts. Intensive interviews weave through travel and performance footage, while sequences are juxtaposed visually by the mergers of 16mm film, super 8 film, video and still imagery. The soundtrack is comprised of original music by the interviewees: Anderson Toone, Lipstick Conspiracy, Katastrophe and Trannysaurus Sex (San Francisco), Basic Fix (Portland), Ryder Richardson (Seattle), Tough Tough Skin and Venus Demars (Minneapolis), Adhamh Roland (St. Louis), Ryka Aoki De La Cruz (Los Angeles), Jessica Xavier (Washington, DC), The Shondes and Novice Theory (Brooklyn, NY), The Degenerettes (Baltimore), Systyr Act (Boston), The Cliks (Toronto), and Coyote Grace (Sonoma County, CA).
Riot Acts is available for streaming on Fandor and Amazon Prime and available on DVD through Outcast Films.
Total Run Time 72 minutes, 2010
Color, Stereo, 4:3, 16mm, Super 8mm, VHS, SD and HD video, converted to digital
Documentary
http://www.riotactsfilm.com
Contact
Riot Acts is distributed by Outcast Films
For United States and Canadian screenings and for institutional acquisitions please contact Outcast.
For International Festival acquisitions and guest presenter inquiries please contact Madsen directly.
Press
“(Riot Acts) discusses the realities of being a trans musician with the kind of candidness that only a “by us for us” project allows…!” –Baltimore Radar
“Riot Acts beautifully traces the meaning of “transition” in terms of bodies, music, voice, harmony, humor and grace. This is a (literally) moving account of the presence and impact of gender variant musicians upon a variety of music scenes and genres and it exposes audiences both to the gendering of music but also to the musicality of gender. A must see film!” — Jack Halberstam, author of Female Masculinity and In a Queer Time and Place
“As the corporate music business continues its long slow slide toward cultural oblivion, it’s refreshing to know that the DIY ethic continues to flourish among trans artists in local clubs, cabarets, and dance halls. This fascinating and touching film introduces the viewer to a aspect of the music scene that they may not have previously encountered, or at least known that they have encountered, partly because its defining features are fluid and not always evident to an audience. Riot Acts smartly mixes analysis of transgender politics with an eclectic array of fantastic music!” –Tom Shevory, Professor of Politics, Ithaca College
“At a time when even Hollywood A-listers seem to want a don a wig and belt out a number, Madsen Minax has brought us the real story behind today’s trans and genderqueer musicians. With candid interviews and explosive performance footage, “Riot Acts” is engrossing from start to finish. If all the world’s a stage, these artists are truly making it their own.” — Tavia Nyong’o, Professor, NYU Tisch School for the Arts
“Finally, a documentary about transgender people that highlights their talents, interests, and spirit, rather than focusing on them solely as political beings. This gender bending rock and roll fusion not only entertains, but also gives a backstage glimpse into the artistic and personal lives of working musicians who are trailblazers in their own right. I challenge anyone to watch this film and not walk away with at least one new favorite band. ” — Tracy Nectoux, Editor, SmilePolitely.com, Reviews Editor for the GLBT Round Table newsletter of the American Library Association; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
What director Madsen Minax doesn’t do is label the performers. Riot Acts spotlights and identifies the names of a wealth of artists…but the movie never tries to shoehorn them into the biology-is-destiny square pegs of mainstream mediaspeak…RIOT ACTS is one of those few documentaries that succeeds because of what it choose not to tell you.”
— Baltimore City Paper
The Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/08/riot-acts-film-explores-t_n_490244.html
The Chicago Reader
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/riot-acts-cimmfest-transgender-musicians-documentary/Content?oid=1492119
Edge Chicago
http://www.edgechicago.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=movies&sc2=news&sc3=&id=103092
Baltimore City Paper
http://www.citypaper.com/film/review.asp?rid=15531
Time Out Chicago
http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/film/80288/reeling-film-festival
The Chicago Free Press
http://dev.chicagofreepress.com/2010/03/03/reel-advice-movie-reviews/
Previous Screenings
Anthology Film Archives, Cinema of Transgression Series, New York, NY
Tilde, Footscray Community Arts Centre, Melbourne, Australia
OPEN, Sumzeig Cinema, Barcelona, Spain
Leeds City Art Gallery, Leeds Queer Film Festival, Leeds, UK
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Madison WI
Llamale H International Film Festival, Montevideo, Uruguay
Shades of Gay, part of Q Fest Houston, Rice University, Houston, TX
Free Speech TV, Cable Television World Premiere
Filmhuis Cavia, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Bangalore Queer Film Festival, Bangalore, India
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
London Fringe Film Festival, London, UK
TranScreen Film Festival, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
*BEST FEATURE
Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival, Austin, TX
Cinema Trans Sous les Etoiles, Montreal, QU, Canada
Kansai Queer Film Festival, Osaka, Japan
Kansai Queer Film Festival, Kyoto, Japan
Werftheater, Utrecht, The Netherlands
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
MIX Festival Brazil, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Reeling LGBT Film Festival, Chicago, IL *BEST DOCUMENTARY + AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD
Chicago International Movies and Music Festival, Chicago, IL
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, British Film Institute, London, UK
SENE Film, Music & Arts Festival, Providence, RI
Mezipatra Czech LGBT Film Festival, Prague, Czech Republic
Boston LGBT Film Festival, Boston, MA
Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival, Seattle, WA
*OPENING NIGHT SELECTION
International Youth Film Festival, Wales, UK
Out On Screen: Vancouver Queer Film Festival, Vancouver, Canada
Frameline International LGBT Film Festival, San Francisco, CA
Queer Lisboa Film Festival, Lisbon, Portugal
Independent Media Center, Urbana, IL
Q! Film Festival, Jakarta, Indonesia
Pink Screens Brussels, Brussels, Belgium
Milwaukee LGBT Film Festival, Milwaukee, WI
Cinema St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Philadelphia Independent Film Festival, Philadelphia, PA *BEST DOCUMENTARY
Chagrin Falls Documentary Film Festival, Chagrin Falls, OH
Park City Film Music Festival, Park City, UT *AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD
Los Angeles Transgender Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA
Chicago Freedom School, Chicago, IL
Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
Pittsburg LGBT Film Festival, Pittsburg, PA
Sacramento Film and Music Festival, Sacramento, CA
The Rogatka, Tel Aviv, Israel
Indianapolis GLBT Film Festival, Indianapolis, IN
ImageOut Rochester, Rochester, NY
Vinokino Film Festival, Helsinki, Finland
Left Bank Books, St. Louis, MO
Fresh Meat Film Festival, San Francisco, CA
Out on Film Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
Bloomington LGBT Film Festival, Bloomington, IN *OPENING NIGHT SELECTION + BEST FEATURE
Seattle Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Seattle, WA
Hamburg LGBT Film Festival, Hamburg, Germany
Idapalooza Festival, Idyll Dandy Arts, Smithville, TN
MIX Mexico Film Festival
, Mexico City, Mexico
Riot Acts is housed in hundreds of university and public library collections throughout the United States and Canada.