![]() ![]() Which is why Tangerine is such an important film to discuss not only in general, but especially on International Women’s Day. There has been an increasing amount of discussion amongst cis and trans performers alike over Hollywood’s disposition for casting cis actors in trans roles, the core worry being that casting non-trans actors in said roles is dehumanizing and that more often than not, these roles and characters function as spectacles or jokes within their narratives. All three stars won various awards for their performances with Leto receiving the Best Support Actor Academy Award – the problematic nature of this has since been a core argument for many discussions surrounding the disregard of casting trans actors in trans roles. The film follows a wide array of films and cinema that feature trans characters within their narratives, but cast cisgender actors and actresses to play these roles, such films include Boys Don’t Cry (1999), a dramatization of the story of Brandon Teena – an American trans male, played by Hilary Swank, Transamerica (2005) which stars Felicity Huffman as a trans woman, and more recently Dallas Buyers Club (2013), a biographical drama that stars Jared Leto as Rayon – a fictional trans woman. The reason that not only is the fact that the film represents and explores the story of two trans characters and that these characters are played by two trans women is important, it is that Tangerine was released in a period in which there was much discussion over trans representation on screen and within the film industry. Even more importantly, Sin-Dee and Alexandra are portrayed by trans performers, and the film’s main area of importance is the exploration of the African-American and Latino trans community that has failed to receive any attention or representation on screen, and that is often overlooked in events and days dedicated to celebrating women, notions of femininity and the feminine, such as International Women’s Day. The film is a rollercoaster of emotions it’s a dramatic frenzy interweaving comedy with tragedy, friendship and betrayal, anger and resolution, but most importantly, and what was failed to be mentioned at the Sundance Film Festival, is that Sin-Dee and Alexandra are trans individuals. Fresh out of jail and upon the revelation that her pimp boyfriend Chester (James Ransone) has been cheating on her whilst she was locked up, Sin-Dee embarks on a revenge mission to find the woman Chester has been seeing behind her back, much to the dismay of Alexandra who lives her life drama-free. Tangerine takes us through the streets of West Hollywood on Christmas Eve, following the lives of best friends and sex workers Sin-Dee Rella (Kitani Kiki Rodriguez) and Alexandra (Mya Taylor). However, whilst this aspect of the film is noteworthy and undoubtedly worth celebrating, it is the cast and the story that functions as the film’s true defining factor, which in itself broke through more conventions and deserves every ounce of attention it received, if not more. Its unconventional method of filmmaking brought the film an incredible amount of attention, celebrating and inspiring amateur and up-and-coming filmmakers who dedicate their lives to creating cinema with limited resources. Shot on a budget of $100,000 in the streets of Los Angeles, director Sean Baker broke through conventional filmmaking techniques, impacting the industry and proving that a big budget, expensive camera equipment and studio space are not necessarily requisites to creating and producing a piece of cinematic art. Tangerine’s premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival sparked a flurry of critical commentary critics were astounded over the reveal that the film was shot entirely between three iPhone 5s smartphones. To celebrate International Women’s Day, NFF volunteer Rhiannon Talbot-Arnold takes a look at the fruitful message underneath the skin of Sean Baker’s 2015 film Tangerine and explains why it’s more relevant than ever, even five years since the film’s release. Why Tangerine (2015) is more relevant than ever this International Women’s Day ![]()
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