Prototype Issue
Film Tranforms an Audience
By Kamren Curiel
(page 1 of 2)I had my own preconceptions about the transgender community before going to see Cleo Valente's latest documentary Transformed, but all were debunked having witnessed the brave tales that unfolded in this educational piece.
RTLA: Your movie Transformed documents the lives of male to female transgenders in LA. Why did you choose to focus only on male to female?
CV: Because I’m a woman. I tried to do FTM (female to male), but they weren’t open at all. Actually, I met with the guy from an FTM organization and they were unwilling to go on camera or do anything. The head of the organization said that if they [FTMs] wanted to talk, fine, but none of them were willing to step forward.
RTLA: Do you think there is more shame involved?
CV: Definitely. They have to go through a vasectomy. I don’t know. They just weren’t as open.
RTLA: So the process from female to male is harder?
CV: I think it’s harder because you have to remove the equipment. With MTF (Male to Female) you just turn the penis inside out and make a vagina. It’s the original equipment.
RTLA: In the film you use clips of an actual surgery. How did you acquire those photos?
CV: Those are stock photos.
RTLA: Are there any health risks involved with the surgery?
CV: I’ve heard there’s not one satisfied customer. I heard many times they can’t pee straight after the operation.
RTLA: Why did you want to make this film?
CV: I was a volunteer at the AIDS Project for a long time and met quite a few transgender women. They were all intelligent and articulate and they told me how isolated they felt from families and friends. They would get really depressed. They would tell me, ‘I was born the wrong gender. I’m a woman.’ They were all so straightforward and had the courage to be who they were regardless of what society said and in spite of having a life paved with pain and loneliness. They touched my heart.
RTLA: How did you choose the women featured in the film?
"The next time you see a transgender, be nice. Don't judge; you don't know their story."—Cleo Valente
CV: I chose the ones who would diversify the film. There’s a couple Latinas, an African American and a white woman. It’s interested because the white woman has a really good job and can kind of lead a normal life after she went through the surgery. The other women have no desire for the surgery. It’s tragic.
RTLA: I like that you captured the multicultural transgender community, but you can definitely see by the film that the white woman even looks better. Is it because she has more self esteem and therefore has it easier? The Latina is very beautiful and intelligent, but she’s stayed at a more grassroots level as an activist.
CV: Vicky Ortega is a very well spoken young lady and has an incredible sense of humor and strength. She’s the one who helped me the most. She guided me through the process, making phone calls, and setting up meetings with the other women from the film. She would say, ‘You don’t want to be here? Just leave. She’s trying to help us.’
RTLA: So did some people drop out of the project?
CV: Yes, so I picked the ones who were more receptive. Isabel, the African-American woman, is extremely bright. Her story is so touching. When she told it everyone on the set was crying, everybody. I didn’t know what to do. I was disarmed by the pain of this woman. She truly loved her husband who died and she was trying to make a better life for them. She has so much strength though and now she’s getting a degree in Psychology.
RTLA: What are some of the misconceptions people have about the transgender community?
CV: There are many misunderstandings about these women. People think they’re transvestites, but they’re not. People have no idea what these women go through. No one knows that the majority of transgender women in LA are Latina; 75%.
Discussion