Leyna Bloom, star of Danielle Lessovitz’s “Port Authority,” is the first trans woman of color to lead a film selected for the Cannes Film Festival. As she explained in a talk at the fest, hosted by Variety and Kering, she’s simultaneously overjoyed by the milestone and aware that much more progress needs to be made in terms of representation.
“Women like me have a seat at the table,” Bloom said, according to Variety. Trans women and trans women of color have more of a presence on-screen thanks to projects such as “Port Authority,” “Pose,” and “Orange Is the New Black.” But as vital and amazing as those titles are, they are still few and far between. And, of course, off-screen, equality is not yet a reality for trans individuals and those on other parts of the gender spectrum.
Trans acceptance is “happening at a very slow pace,” Bloom opined, “not just in Hollywood, but around the world.”
“Port Authority,” Bloom’s feature debut, sees a trans woman and a cis man falling in love against the backdrop of New York’s ball scene. Before landing the film, Bloom, who is also a dancer and model, had trouble finding an agent. She was often told “Your skin is too dark” or “Your body’s not shaped the right way.”
However, show biz’s transphobia, sexism, and racism didn’t stop Bloom from pursuing a career or from speaking up about social justice. “I knew what I had to fight for,” she said.
And the fight continues. Hollywood still habitually offers trans stories to cis performers. While Bloom appreciates actors’ desire to challenge themselves by taking on characters with different world views or backgrounds, she would prefer trans actors get the trans roles. A cis woman portraying a trans woman “would never really be authentic, the way it would be if you saw a trans woman do it,” Bloom observed. Her advice for Hollywood, allies, and anyone else depicting the trans experience is simple: “Don’t fetishize us — protect us.”
Among the projects on Bloom’s upcoming slate is Linda Yellen’s “Fluidity,” an ensemble drama about 10 millennials of varying gender identities living in NYC.
No word on a U.S. release for “Port Authority” yet.
