LA Premiere - Arclight Cinemas: September 10th 2019 / Grand Jury Prize Slamdance – Markie in Milwaukee
Assembled from over 10 years of footage, Markie in Milwaukee tells the story of a midwestern transgender woman as she struggles with the prospect of de-transitioning under the pressures of her fundamentalist church, family and community.
Interview with Director/Producer/Editor Matt Kliegman
Watch Markie in Milwaukee on Prime Video, iTunes and Kanopy
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I met Markie in the airport in Milwaukee in 2007 - and despite knowing nothing about Markie I felt a hand guide me towards her. Maybe it was instinct or I was somehow able to perceive a wavelength Markie was sending out - but when I did approach her and suggest we start filming together she was immediately excited and open to the opportunity.
Over the subsequent five years of getting to know Markie, I realized it was a tremendous story that could only be done in feature film format. I did not know exactly where it was headed - but in Markie I found a perfect creative collaborator - we are so different but have so much in common.
In 2013 I got a call saying from here on out she would be going as Mark and presenting male. We filmed extensively that year as the scope of the story that we would be able to tell expanded drastically.
It was by no means an easy journey to make the film, but it was an opportunity that presented itself and I felt once we started I had to do right by Markie and finish the film. She opened up her heart telling her story, and it would be a tragedy for it to remain unfinished.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I've always been drawn to biblical parables and how religion as a whole affect people in modern times. Our current society exists almost solely because of the decisions made by ancient people in the Judean desert. Now, thousands of years later people try to live their life accordingly but we're in a very different world. Religious identity seems to be least flexible of personality traits, and seeing that collide with the modern world is incredible, scary and magnificent.
The other thing that appealed to me immensely is the stories of "outsiders". I have always identified myself as such, and perhaps go out of my way to remain outside, but simply was never very good at joining groups or being a member of something. I laugh I am a lone wolf, but filmmaking is, of course, a collaborative process.
With Markie, I saw her struggle as transgender evangelical in very liberal LGBTQ spaces - where despite wanting to fit in, her preaching and past set her at odds with others on those spaces - many of whom were chased out of religion by hateful family or community members. Markie always wanted to fit in, but circumstances beyond her control prohibited it.
But I have always idealized ascetics, the selfless sacrifice of a personal life for the pursuit of knowledge, understanding or spirituality.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
This was a documentary film so there was really no script. Initially, the plan was to make a movie about Markie and her quotidian life. I had no intention of focusing exclusively on her gender identity, but more a window into the day to day life of someone I found immensely relatable and fascinating. We went all over Southwestern Wisconsin - the state fair, various groceries, the baseball stadium, the city, the beach, her neighborhood, my neighborhood - all over just spending time and hearing her perspective on the world.
When I got the call in 2013 - I wanted nothing more then for Markie to have peace and be able to live a life they were happy with - and it seemed presenting male would allow that for some time, so as we had for the years prior I offered my support and encouragement for Markie in how she moved forward.
This for sure threw a curveball as suddenly it was becoming a film that ends with Markie denying her gender identity, but thought we could edit the film accordingly so as to not make it an endorsement of this - but rather look at it critically and see what factors contributed to it.
After two years as living exclusively as Mark, I got another call that changed all of that - and once again I did everything I could to support and offer encouragement.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The feedback has been generally very positive. However, the real win comes when people approach Markie after screenings and share how the film touched them or changed their perspective on many of the themes throughout the film.
Before any of our screenings, I make a concerted effort to do outreach in the town we are presenting in - this is often LGBTQ groups in the area, as well as religious institutions and if available other Baptist churches.
Part of sharing this story is not being afraid to share it with evangelicals who are certainly stuck in the past in regards to how they view gender identity. Markie was for all intents as died in the wool as any other baptist, knows the bible front to back and tries to walk in the path of her lord as best as possible. No evangelical could deny that.
We recently screened at Sidewalk Film Fest where seemingly everyone in the crowd came from a baptist family or had a parent/grandparent who was a preacher - and it was unbelievable to see how their language has slowly started to shift - from completely not understanding the first thing about being transgender, to now starting to realize there is no reason to fear or hate trans people, and they can walk along with God the same as they do.
It took lots of guts for Markie to share her story just to me and a camera, and even more with an audience of strangers with strong opinions.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The feedback has been generally positive, with many people completely understanding Markies experience and a learning opportunity for others who went into the film being less familiar with a story like Markie's.
Someone recently wrote a poem for Markie and handed it to her after the screening. It was written in language Baptist Evangelicals use but was very affirming to Markie and it was very touching and sweet.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We put in an inconceivable amount of work to make this film - long hours, constant rejection and misleads - and to have finished it feels like a miracle. All I hope for now is to be able to share this film with the widest audience possible, start conversations, and our most ambitious goal is to actively shift the culture in a small way.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
For the most part - everyone that has been involved in the film has reached out to me - they had seen snippets or rough cuts and saw the potential and the power of this story, and had to get involved. So as we've been on our festival run this year we are looking for those people who see the power and potential and want to get involved in sharing Markie's story.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Standing ovations? Ultimately I want this to be a valuable experience for Markie and the experience to be positively affirming.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
As Markie said "How can this be?!" she continues, "Well... it is. "
Would you like to add anything else?
Come to Arclight September 10th at 8 pm!
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am doing research and initial interviews for an untitled documentary on the rise of Jewish spirituality in the 1700s and the dramatic effect it had on everything between then and now - in regards to faith, family structure, sexuality, psychedelics and culture.
Markie is hard at work refining her autobiography which we plan on shopping around later this year.
Interview: September 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
Markie in Milwaukee
Assembled from over 10 years of footage, Markie in Milwaukee tells the story of a midwestern transgender woman as she struggles with the prospect of de-transitioning under the pressures of her fundamentalist church, family and community.
Length: 1:28:27
Director: Matt Kliegman
Producer: Matt Kliegman, Zac Stuart-Pontier
Writer: Documentary Film, God is the writer.
About the writer, director and producer:
MATT KLIEGMAN is a filmmaker and visual artist. His film Markie in Milwaukee was a recipient of the Sundance Documentary Fund, and won the Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance 2019. He has produced visual works for the worlds top artists and brands, from Kanye West and Beyonce to Louise Vuitton. His work has appeared in numerous museums and spreads widely across multiple social media channels.
ZAC STUART-PONTIER is the creator of The Crimetown, RFK Tapes and, The Ballad of Billy Balls podcasts. He was a producer on HBO's The Jinx, and Catfish (the doc).
Key cast: Markie Wenzel
Facebook: Markie in Milwaukee
Twitter: @MarkieMilwaukee
Instagram: @markie_in_milwaukee
Hashtags used: #markieinmilwaukee
Website: www.markieinmilwaukee.com
Other: IMDb
Made in association with: Steamclam Media, Glass Eye Pix
Funders: Self Funded, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program with support from JustFilms Ford Foundation
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? September 10th, Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood (LA Premiere); Upcoming Milwaukee Screening ( venue/date TBD); Upcoming New York Screening Last week of October (NY Premiere, Venue/Date TBD); Upcoming Paris Screening November 17th (International Premiere, Date/Location TBD).