|
|
||
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Recent Articles Trivia Addict Superfan Movies Browse Search Film Festivals Frameline Out on DVD Inside the Indies Big Screen Short Movie Awards Television Music Sundance Tonys Out on DVD |
|
Long before Brandon Teena's brutal rape and murder became the subject of a detailed account in The New Yorker and a feature film that just earned Oscar nominations for actresses Hilary Swank and Chloe Sevigny, a pair of documentary filmmakers got wind of the strange, tragic story, and headed for rural Nebraska to acquaint themselves with the people closest to Brandon Teena. The result of their three years of research, painstaking legwork, and jailhouse interviews with Brandon's convicted killers, was The Brandon Teena Story, an award-winning documentary that has just been released on video and DVD. Susan Muska and Greta Olasfsdottir say they hope the accessibility of their film about the young woman who lived as a man and was ultimately murdered for his gender transgression (along with two other victims), finds a new audience and raises awareness about hate and homophobia. The filmmakers, who both live in New York, stress that they were able to get such revealing, honest accounts from the men and women in Brandon's orbit because they spent long stretches in both Lincoln and Falls City, the small town where Brandon lived and was murdered. Their tenacity and candor earned them the trust of the people interviewed in the film. "We had a purpose; they knew us and we treated them with respect," Muska says. "They may not have liked us, but they were helpful and courteous. People wanted to talk, and ultimately tell their side of the story and what they experienced. For most of them, this was the key story to their lives." The interviewees include Brandon's sister and mother, and several young women who dated and slept with Brandon -- and still speak of his charm and gentlemanliness with the blush of young love. Most had found out at some point that Brandon was biologically female, and the varied responses to this, from ambivalence to resignation, are full of contradictions but never hostile. "Brandon was the best boyfriend they ever had; he's still the best guy they ever had," says Olasfsdottir. "We are still in touch with the girls, and even today, if Brandon comes up, their whole face changes." Another of the girls interviewed is Lana Tisdel, whose close relationship with Brandon in Falls City led, despite Tisdel's loyalty to Brandon even after his gender was revealed, to his savage murder. Tisdel's own mother was involved in exposing Brandon as a female to his killers, John Lotter and Tom Nissen. Appearing in the documentary "took courage because she knew she would not come across very nicely," said Muska. "Her conscience was bothering her and this was a way to deal with it." Perhaps the most dramatic aspect of The Brandon Teena Story is the jailhouse interviews with Lotter and Nissen. Muska and Olasfsdottir remained in Nebraska for the separate murder trials of both men (Nissen cut a deal to avoid the electric chair by testifying against Lotter. Lotter is now on death row; Nissen is serving a life sentence). The filmmakers stress that before they even got into the jail to interview the killers, they spent six months making calls, writing letters, and preparing for the encounter with the murderers, who still deny their guilt. "We were ready. We had a bead on them," said Muska. "We tried to draw them out." The result is a chilling and tense encounter that exposes the fear, hatred, and homophobia rampant in both men. The filmmakers have keen observations about why Brandon's secret so disturbed the people who were supposed to be his friends, and threatened Lotter and Nissen to such a degree that it resulted in a triple murder. "Many people accepted the truth on a personal level. But once it became public knowledge, they could not be complicit," says Muska. "They could not deal with the label of 'dyke' or 'lesbian.'" Surprisingly, the filmmakers found that many of Brandon's acquaintances tolerated the gender confusion, but not the specter of homosexuality. "There was this attitude of, 'Well, he's going to get a sex change operation,' and that was OK for some reason. But the fear of being a lesbian, or the suspicion that they were lesbian, was not OK," Muska says. Muska's and Olasfsdottir's Bless Bless Productions have moved on to new projects, including a film about women and genocide, shot in Kosovo, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Albania. But The Brandon Teena Story remains their labor of love, so it's not surprising that they react with a grudging diplomacy when asked about the successful Boys Don't Cry. Released in 1999, well after The Brandon Teena Story, the new film has similarities that make Muska and Olasfsdottir wince. "There was always talk about this film or that film getting made, but we were busy working on our film and never paid attention," says Muska. "Of course, the similarities bother us. If you're getting that kind of backing, make up your own beginning [to the film]. It's a cheap rip-off." They are proud that their documentary will have a second life as a video rental, and reach a new audience. "It's at Blockbuster," says Muska, with a bit of awe. "That's better than Channel 13! Everybody goes to Blockbuster." "We have been all over the world with the film," adds Olasfsdottir. "Whether the audience is queer or big, macho guys, all walks of life are affected by the film. That's our reward." * Read the PopcornQ review of The Brandon Teena Story PQ MOVIE NEWS: PQ Video Hot List | Interviews | Advance Guide to Queer Film | Movie News Archive | PQ Video Hot Lists Galore MORE NEWS ON PLANETOUT: PlanetOut News & Politics | PlanetOutRadio | Entertainment
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||
