Setting Sun Film Festival 2019 – Transpiration
Young Australian, Aiden Blyton, revisits his experience of growing up as a gay, transgender boy at an all-girls’ high school in his conversations with long-term friend and filmmaker, Maggie Brittingham.
Interview with Writer/Director/Actor Maggie Brittingham
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I made Transpiration because one of my best friends, Aiden Blyton, had a story to tell and I wanted to help him tell it to the best of my ability. Like many other transgender people, Aiden’s story is not one that is typically visible in the media or in the society which is something I wanted to help change by providing a platform for Aiden to tell his story with his own voice. I wanted to do this in a creative way that encouraged a diverse audience to empathise with Aiden by focussing on his emotional journey to deny the dehumanisation of Aiden, and hopefully in effect, other transgender and gender diverse people. Creating Transpiration was also a way to reconnect with my oldest friend, Aiden, find closure in what we experienced together throughout high school and hopefully spread a message of support, communication and equality.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Aiden Blyton is astonishingly honest in Transpiration. He revisits his experience growing up as a gay, transgender male in an all-girls high school with sincere openness and clarity, providing an insight into the life of an isolated youth in contemporary Australia. How often are gender diverse voices heard on screen? How often are these people defined by their gender diversity? And how often do we address our own insecurities head-on to find closure and peace within ourselves to move forward? In Transpiration Aiden navigates his way through all these difficult questions and shows us how we can find support and acceptance between us all; an ideal that actualises on-screen through Aiden’s friendship with the director, Maggie Brittingham. Transpiration is a caring story about support, friendship and love and is an exploration in how we can make our world a more inclusive place.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Central to my film is the interplay between its personal themes and its universal themes. I wrote Transpiration with two emotional arcs in mind. The first, depicting the development of themes that are personal to Aiden such as identity, coming out and coming of age. The second arc depicts the development of the universal theme in which Aiden overcomes the feeling of being hopelessly alone through support, friendship and love. Our universal themes are emotionally accessible for a large audience demographic; the desire to be accepted is a very human one. I intended for the universal theme to encourage an empathetic approach to Aiden’s personal themes of identity and coming out, as most people can understand the feeling of being alone. Therefore the film is not so much about how Aiden is different to the ‘norm’, but how we can connect with each other as we all experience human emotions.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The script for Transpiration evolved dramatically during the post-production stage. Originally the questions that I asked Aiden were quite equally balanced between their concentration on Aiden’s emotional journey and more informative-based questions relating to transgenderism. During post-production I was faced with quite a difficult decision on which pieces to include; we had about 7 hours worth of interviews full of some incredibly honest words from Aiden. The way Aiden talked so openly about transgenderism was such a rare insight to have from someone who is experiencing a social and physical transition first-hand, and so willing to share such personal information to raise awareness and understanding.
In the end, however, I decided to focus more on Aiden’s emotional journey. It was very important to me to concentrate on forming an emotional link between Aiden and the audience throughout the film so that all audiences from a variety of demographics could connect with him, emotionally. The informative answers Aiden gave were very valuable but, to me, they weren’t relevant to Aiden’s emotional journey. They didn’t have a place in this film but hopefully one day we can create a safe space for more informative discussion in a school-based program when we bring the film to high schools.
Ultimately, as director, I felt that what Aiden decided to do with his identity and his body was no one else’s business. I did not in any way want to give the impression that Aiden was such an extreme polarisation of the ‘norm’ that he had to explain himself to the audience. Instead, I wanted to reinforce the idea of inclusion and unity by concentrating on Aiden’s emotional development.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
So far, the reception of Transpiration has been overwhelmingly positive. For me, the experience of listening to Aiden speak so honestly about feelings we just couldn’t understand or articulate entirely as kids, and realising the strength in our support for each other was such a rewarding experience in itself. But as an amazing bonus, the supportive reaction I have experienced from audience members has been so heartwarming. We hope to spread the message of Transpiration throughout high schools and focus groups that might not normally have experience with queer and/or gender diverse communities, a plan that has also been well-received and encouraged in response to our film so far. If this film can help just one kid feeling the same way that Aiden did in high school, then we will have made a change that I am proud of.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Because discussion around queerness and gender diversity is often made into a political, divisive one Aiden, Holly and I had mentally prepared for negative reactions we might receive towards the film. Unfortunately, the social climate today is not entirely inclusive and as a result, positive reactions to queer and gender diverse content can often come as a surprise, as creators prepare for the worst. But the positive feedback we have received for Transpiration shows that with empathy and kindness, we all are capable of acceptance and hopefully one day, equality.
In a way, I am welcoming of perspectives that respectfully challenge the point of view of my film. This film was made to start a discussion and hopefully encourage ways of thinking more inclusively and if we can do that by talking with, challenging and understanding each other, then I hope we get to experience alternative perspectives to the film. Simply by talking respectfully and empathetically, we are working towards a more inclusive society.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
By having our film more visible on wearemovingstories we are hoping firstly, to increase the visibility of queer and gender diverse voices on screen. We believe that Aiden has such an important story to tell and would love to see it supported by distributors, journalists and anyone else who might be able to help spread the film’s message. I feel so privileged to be a filmmaker part of wearemovingstories and am excited for and welcoming of any contact or opportunity to spread experiences of diversity through art.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I would love to get in contact with film festival directors, journalists, producers and distributors in order to amplify Transpiration’s message.
Having the opportunity for this film to be supported critically by more film festival directors will add credibility to our message. Journalists and distributors will also raise awareness and be able to find target groups that our film might resonate with. Producers can also help us in providing counsel or support for our future projects to continue creating content full of diversity.
I am also currently looking to develop a program for Transpiration to be distributed in high schools. The plan is to provide a screening of the film followed by a panel featuring myself (the director), Aiden Blyton (the documentary subject) and Holly Volkmer (the producer). We plan to tailor this panel for two different audiences, one for students and one for teachers to encourage students towards a sense of inclusion and to help teachers understand how to make their classroom inclusive, specifically for queer and gender diverse students. We would love to get into contact with any schools, teachers, principals and funding bodies who might be able to help us get this program up and running as we believe it is such an important message to be spread for young people and has had overwhelmingly positive responses to this idea. To get involved you can contact us at our Facebook page.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Ultimately, I hope that this film helps to increase a sense of inclusion by increasing people’s empathy and understanding of queer and/or gender diverse people. I hope that my film can help kids who are feeling similar to Aiden when he was in high school, to find acceptance within themselves and give them the confidence to surround themselves with people who respect them because that is what everyone deserves. I hope my film can also reach non-queer identifying people, to raise awareness and generate discussion on how we can make our environment more inclusive.
This film isn’t solely about Aiden’s queerness. It’s about overcoming the feeling that you are alone. I hope this universal feeling will resonate with all audiences so that we can concentrate less on how we’re divisively different and instead, recognise our similarities and celebrate our differences.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
What comes first: The change around us, or the change within?
Would you like to add anything else?
I just want to say that this film could not have been made without the incredible people behind it, namely the very talented producer Holly Volkmer and especially, Aiden Blyton.
Aiden was integral to the heart of this film. He contributed so much to the film’s creation. It was very important to me to include him heavily throughout the process of creating this film. In documentary filmmaking, directors have huge power to do harm to their subjects and we must make ethical considerations to protect the safety of our subjects. I wanted Aiden to have the utmost agency possible in the film’s creation and ensure that he was comfortable and being heard through the entire process.
Aiden contributed so much of his passion for this project. He shared such personal stories, his artwork and environment. He even suggested arguably one of the most impactful scenes in the film: the binding scene. We didn’t ask this of Aiden so as not to invade his privacy, but Aiden actively suggested including this scene which was incredibly powerful.
All I can say is that I’m so glad I know you, Aiden. You have such an important story to tell and I look forward to hearing a lifetime’s worth more.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Writer/Director, Maggie Brittingham, and Producer, Holly Volkmer, are currently in pre-production for their upcoming, graduate project together with working title The Bed. The suburban comedy/drama, The Bed, is currently in its script development stage and Maggie and Holly are very excited to create and share with you, another heartfelt and honest film.
Interview: May 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Transpiration
Young Australian, Aiden Blyton, revisits his experience of growing up as a gay, transgender boy at an all-girls’ high school in his conversations with long-term friend and filmmaker, Maggie Brittingham.
Length: 10:38
Director: Maggie Brittingham
Producer: Holly Volkmer
Writer: Maggie Brittingham
About the writer, director and producer:
Melbourne-based filmmaker, MAGGIE BRITTINGHAM, is currently studying a Bachelor of Film and Television with Honours at Swinburne University of Technology. She hopes to create a sociological impact through her filmmaking in the Australian industry by exploring stories of diversity and promoting equity and inclusion in her filmmaking practice. She has recently commenced pre-production on her graduate film with the producer of Transpiration and is excited by the opportunity to tell more unique and heartfelt stories.
HOLLY VOLKMER is currently studying a Bachelor of Film and TV, with Honours at Swinburne University. She has recently begun another production with the director of Transpiration. She wishes to become a recognised Australian producer who creates important and diverse stories.
Key cast: Aiden Blyton (himself), Maggie Brittingham (herself)
Looking for: distributors, journalists, film festival directors, buyers, sales agents, producers
Facebook: Transpiration
Instagram: @transpirationshort
Hashtags used: #transgender #LGBTQ+ #gender diversity #short film #short doco #transpiration
Other: Vimeo
Funders: Self-funded
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? The Setting Sun Film Festival/Sun Theatre, Yarraville - 6th of May 2019 at 6:30pm