Is She or Isn't He
Justin Pemberton's latest documentary, Is She or Isn't He, showing as part of the NZ Selection at the Documentary Edge Festival 2011.
Is She or Isn’t He? is the longest documentary project ever commissioned by New Zealand On Air. It will undoubtedly provoke debate about how New Zealanders define their sex and sexuality and how they deal with people seeking transgender surgery.
Is She or Isn’t He? is an intricate coming-of-age tale about someone on the run from his identity. Graham is an outsider who wants desperately to be seen as normal. He decides that the best way to do this is to become an attractive heterosexual woman. As she goes deeper into her transformation Ashleigh starts to serve up some contentious and surprising thoughts. Ashleigh does not want to be known as transgender, and insists she’s “just a heterosexual woman.” This is an intimate story of a self proclaimed “fat, hairy woman with a penis” and a five-year search to find love and acceptance.
Acclaimed director Pemberton’s sensitive but probing interactions with Ashleigh allow Pemberton to delve deeply into Ashleigh’s psyche and motivation this causes Ashleigh to realise her inner confusion. Pemberton’s film highlights the importance of making sure that transgender patients are given proper counseling before the life changing surgery is undertaken. She feels the ‘properly’ female Ashleigh could exist coherently in the straight world from which she craves acceptance, yet this path is also the most extreme mentally, physically and financially. What feels the most liberating option ultimately becomes the most limiting of all.
- The Documentary Edge Festival 2011 is on in Auckland from Februar 16 - March 6 and Wellington March 10-27
New Zealand 2010 / 71min. Director/Producer Justin Pemberton.
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The Documentary New Zealand TrustThe Documentary New Zealand Trust
Is a non-for-profit charitable organization that advocates and promotes the importance of documentary films and filmmaking in New Zealand to our creative, business and wider communities. The Trust organizes the Documentary Edge Festival and Documentary Edge Forum and Pitching Forum.
Documentary Edge Festival is Australasia's only international competitive documentary film festival held annually in New Zealand and showcases the very best documentary film from New Zealand and around the World. The festival runs from late February and includes an Awards Night, Q&A sessions with filmmakers, social functions and more.
Documentary Edge Forum is a 3-day industry event runs at the same time of Documentary Edge Festival. It includes master-classes, seminars and panels. A key event of the Forum is a Pitching Forum attended by overseas commissioners, buyers and sales agents where selected projects are pitched with an opportunity to earn a commission or co-production funding. Documentary Edge also examine the innovations and challenges facing the documentary filmmaking industry so as to better equip our filmmakers. The Forum is place to learn and network with local and international professionals from the industry.
The Trust is also developing the establishment of Documentary Edge Campus, a Resouce Centre for documentaries in Auckland.
In the Gallery
Submitted19 Jan 2009InWhats On and Reviews
