“We have heard the story told by the hunter and not by the lion, and not by the lions who not only fought back but got away,” “Pose’s” Angelica Ross says in a new trailer for “Framing Agnes.” The award-winning doc reimagines trans history in America through the story of one Agnes (Zachary Drucker, “Transparent”).
“Agnes” was the pseudonym of a young trans woman who “lied her way into the UCLA Gender Clinic to get access to surgery” and gender-affirming healthcare in the 1960s, the trailer tells us. “Framing Agnes” blends fiction and non-fiction and uses the “fascinating and celebrated figure in trans history” as a springboard to revisit other neglected case files of trans folks, per the film’s synopsis.
“It’s wild to be part of a project like this that kind of blows open a vault,” Ross says in the trailer.
The actress and trans rights activist is joined by other trans entertainers and thinkers such as Jen Richards (“Mrs. Fletcher”) to bring to life never-before-seen interviews of the UCLA study. The trailer includes a reenactment of a talk show interview with a trans man who used paint to conceal the “F” on his drivers license, which the authorities scraped off. “They asked me are you a man or a woman? And I said, ‘Well, that’s a matter of opinion.”
Ross and Richards previously shared the screen in “Her Story,” a series about the dating lives of trans and queer women, for which the latter which received an Emmy nom.
Drucker acted in and produced “Transparent.” She received an Emmy nomination for doc short “This Is Me,” about the daily challenges trans folks face. “Better Things” and “Clarice” are among Richard’s credits.
Known for her portrayal of Candy in “Pose,” FX’s drama about ball culture in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Ross’ other credits include “American Horror Story” and “Claws.”
Morgan M. Page wrote “Framing Agnes” with director Chase Joynt. The film premiered earlier this year at Sundance Film Festival, where it took home the Audience Award in the NEXT section and a NEXT Innovator Award. It will be in theaters December 2.
