WICKED QUEER Boston LGBTQ Film Festival - PELE (Skin)
Dandara Zainabo has a scar around her belly button from eating bricks as a young child. Today, she is a 19 year old trans activist living on the streets of Rio de Janeiro. This experimental portraiture seeks to preserve the spirit of this mighty woman as both powerful and precarious.
Interview with Director/Producer Adam Golub
Watch Pele on Out Museum
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
This film is born of my friendship with Dandara during my first stint living in Rio de Janeiro. She was living in a transitional housing for trans folks that is run by the subject of my current feature, a powerful trans politician named Indianara Siqueira. Trans women of color in Brazil are facing devastating challenges and also forming part of an increasingly visible movement. I felt (and still feel) that I will do whatever it takes to amplify the voices of these powerful people in their struggle for recognition and security in Brazilian society.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
This film follows an extremely vulnerable person in our world. The temptation is to see her paternalistically, with pity or with guilt. However, in my piece I hope to give a sense of the might and ferocity of Dandara. Her strength AND her fragility make her very existence a challenge to mainstream notions of rich and poor, of weak and strong. So, if you're up for that challenge, you should watch this film.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The personal themes of Dandara's life are obvious, we enter her story through the scar on her stomach from eating bricks when she was a child (the result of a relatively common condition called Pica). However, through her personal story we see the experience of a young, black trans activist, fighting within her society for change. Her grappling with death and her scars both physical and emotional straddle the personal and universal throughout the portrait.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The film never had a script, really. Dandara's presence throughout the experimental portraiture process was enough to allow a mostly unfettered version of her to come through. The big question of how much to reveal about the sculptural process within the piece was the biggest narrative question. In the end we decided that we don't need people to know the specifics of the process she was undergoing throughout, and that in fact the question of the process allowed her protagonism a level of certainty. That is to say, she is the focus, and the process is secondary.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
People have generally enjoyed the film. The biggest concern we had was having images of a white artist standing up above a black trans woman lying flat on a table and telling the story of her life from this level of vulnerability which clearly reflects the structural dynamics of power. In the end, we feel that this is in fact the point of the piece in some way. As Dandara expounds on black resistance and revolution, the white artist above her does her best to understand but never can, and so instead tries to preserve the body and the spirit of the powerful woman before us.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Absolutely, as mentioned in the previous question.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Just increased visibility generally for any and all journalists that are working for/with trans people in Brazil. This is a critical time for the community and it is our responsibility, especially for a US audience (whose Evangelical Christian dollars are being pumped into Brazil each year to build an increasingly intolerant and powerful movement there), to be aware and in support of their struggle.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
I DEFINITELY need help in production and distribution for the larger feature film about Indianara Siqueira. She will be running for federal office this year and I will be heading back to Rio in August to film her campaign and the elections this year. I have, so far, been working with a very small team with super limited resources (that doc film life) and am always looking for creative partners!
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I hope this film will continue to grow the movement internationally for trans activism. Most of the cisgendered people I have shown this film to are tempted into the paternalistic response, and I hope to generate dialogue around our responsibilities and our own fragilities within the structures that render some among us less certain in terms of human rights and bodily security.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Do you feel pity for Dandara? Why? What does she represent? What is your responsibility to her from however far away you think you are?
Would you like to add anything else?
Just that my friendship with Dandara is very complicated and strong. I have rarely felt more truly alive then when living with her and her community in Rio. I wonder how much time and resources we spend protecting ourselves from the difficulties of those most vulnerable in our own communities. Are we willing to put our bodies in those spaces and on the line? Why and why, perhaps, not?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
The project on Indianara is called Conchego da tua Mãe and is in mid-production. As I said, I'll be shooting the second half of this year. Feel free to check out the website and trailer:
http://www.retratosurbanos.com/
Interview: March 2018
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTIAQ+, scifi, 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
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PELE (Skin)
Dandara Zainabo has a scar around her belly button from eating bricks as a young child. Today, she is a 19 year old trans activist living on the streets of Rio de Janeiro. This experimental portraiture seeks to preserve the spirit of this mighty woman as both powerful and precarious.
Length: 9 mins
Director: Adam Golub
Producer: Adam Golub
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): Buyers, distributors, festival directors
Social media handles:
Facebook: facebook.com/megamotmedia
Other: www.megamotmedia.org
Made in association with: Despina, Largo das Artes
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
It is playing next at WICKED QUEER Boston's LGBTQ Film Festival on April 7th. If you're in Boston, go check it out!