Oscilloscope Laboratories has secured U.S. rights to Aisling Chin-Yee’s and Chase Joynt’s “No Ordinary Man,” a documentary about a misunderstood transmasculine trailblazer, and Jeanne Leblanc’s “Les Nôtres,” a drama about a scandal that rocks a small Quebec community. A press release announced the acquisitions.
“No Ordinary Man” is a portrait of trans jazz musician Billy Tipton, as reimagined by contemporary trans artists and performers. The media previously portrayed Tipton’s story as that of a woman who passed as a man in order to succeed as a jazz artist.
“I’ve always been drawn to stories about people who have been misunderstood, and in particular those from minoritized communities or genders,” Chin-Yee told us when the film premiered at TIFF last year. “Billy’s story was so compelling to me. Here was a man who lived a beautiful life, was a gifted musician, was a family man, and after he died had his story distorted and changed, and his family made into a spectacle on the talk show circuit. It was heartbreaking, but also inspiring to do right by Billy, and the people most affected by his story.”
“We are thrilled to join the team at O-Scope and can’t wait for audiences to spend time with these extraordinary stories,” Chin-Yee and Joynt said about their film’s acquisition. “Tipton’s life and death offer us myriad ways to think about the power of gender, race, family, and media in shaping trans lives both in the past and in the future. There couldn’t be a better time to continue these conversations in the U.S.”
“No Ordinary Man” will be released later this year.
Heather Graham-starrer “The Rest of Us” and shorts “Synesthesia” and “Sound Asleep” are among Chin-Yee’s other credits.
“Les Nôtres,” or “Our Own,” will be released June 18. The suspense drama is set in a small, close-knit Quebec community that’s rocked when a popular highschooler becomes pregnant and refuses to name the father.
“’Les Nôtres’ is born out of an urge to talk about silence. The type of silence that can only exist when people avoid seeing and speaking the truth in order to survive,” Leblanc said. “Obviously, we didn’t know how this film would be received by the audience, but we knew it was a story worth telling. When Oscilloscope approached us, I was pleasantly surprised, touched, and quite thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with them. And so, it is with great pleasure and excitement that we share this important and universal story with you.”
Oscilloscope’s Dan Berger added, “The slow-burn, atmospheric drama that unravels in ‘Les Nôtres’ is deeply engaging and deeply unsettling. The nuance Jeanne brings to fleshing out the setting and its inhabitants makes us feel as though we have lived there our whole lives. Which is why it’s that much more nail-bitingly effective when everything goes awry.”
Leblanc wrote “Les Nôtres” with Judith Baribeau. She has also directed the feature “Isla Blanca” and shorts including “10 Seconds of Carla” and “One Night with You.”
