Wanting to Transition
Dennis Christoffersen, a counselor at University Health Services at UW-Madison is impressed by the uniqueness of the transition stories he hears. “One thing for these people is figuring out what is normal for them,” he says. “They are really in search of a healthy model and finding others so they don’t feel so isolated.” A leader of an LGBT support group, Christoffersen looks out for the safety of transgendered people.
“This is a highly politicized time…some people feeling alone and not solid in their identity can overhear very strong anti-trans statements and feel more unaccepted than ever,” he says.
Photo by: Aimee Katz
It’s this desire for change, to bring hope and understanding to the marginalized transgendered population, that Altadonna wants to expose through her films. With the lens of her camera, she is bringing gender into focus and creating conversations, while making a name for herself as a filmmaker.
As an artist, Altadonna feels comfortable labeling herself as a transgendered filmmaker, believing it helps her become known for her art. “If that label is going to allow me to show my films more and get my work out there, I don’t mind it.”
A New Project
Altadonna’s films, including “Whatever Suits You,” have appeared at film festivals around the United States and across Europe and Australia. But in 2008, Altadonna started Tall Lady Pictures, a film company, to fulfill her goal of having gender reassignment surgery to become fully female biologically.
“I was trying to figure out if there was a way that I could use filmmaking and art to fund my surgery,” she says. “An expense always came along, and I couldn’t save enough money. Yet I came up with this idea at a bar with a filmmaker friend. We got caught up in crazy fundraisers and a documentary as a way to explore issues that transgender people face.”
With a network of caring friends and talented colleagues, Altadonna is currently in the process of putting together “Making the Cut,” a film exploring her personal journey, transition from one gender to another, and the societal challenges transgendered people face. “Making the Cut” is a pure documentary. Speaking to doctors, activists and transgendered people across the country, Altadonna conveys an internal perspective of resilience and personal achievement. She seeks to educate people about being transgendered and celebrate the spirit of transgendered people.
Altadonna’s films, however, differentiate from mainstream portrayals of the challenges of transgendered people in society. “You’re getting quite oftentimes one view of gender and transgenderism,” Altadonna says of the mainstream media. “When you go to independent sources, you have more of a variety…I’ve seen a lot of transgendered documentaries, and they’re not made by transgendered filmmakers. It’s kind of formulaic, like I went through this big struggle, and now I’m happy. But I don’t try and drill that formula in my films.”
Transition is a personal and emotional process. She says surgery “ultimately is about what I need to make me happy. I don’t think that surgery will ‘fix everything’ for me or that I will ever feel like my transition is complete, but it will be a big step forward personally.”
Altadonna held her last fundraiser for “Making the Cut” in November 2012. A celebration of identity and acceptance, she held it in Milwaukee at the Down and Over Pub with a catered dinner and karaoke contest. “There’s still a bunch of interviews to do, and then there will be the whole process of me going and getting the surgery,” says Altadonna. “I’m assuming it will be another year, year-and-a-half until the film comes out.”
Photo by: Aimee Katz
Though Altadonna identifies as female today and is closer than ever to reaching her final goal of gender reassignment strategy, her development as a filmmaker grows every day. “I’d like to do a biopic film about this transitional model named April Altadonna,” the person from whom Altadonna got her name, she says. “She was the first sort of high-profile transsexual, from Britain.”
While her talent is ever unfolding, “Whatever Suits You” served as Altadonna’s catalyst for her future. The film is a metaphor for Altadonna’s identity as a woman, the process of finding herself as she mends the shielding suit to create a beautiful black dress. In the end, she looks up, revealing a soft smile. The powerful seven-minute film continues to help build momentum for Altadonna’s campaign to create “Making the Cut” and fund gender reassignment surgery.
It began with a suit and continues with a cut. Not of fabric this time, but an outer shell unfitting for the person within. Altadonna looks through a lens to expose the trite and show truth—what it feels like to live as a transgendered person. Ultimately, it is a journey, a personal and emotional process, for the ability, as Altadonna says, to be the person she is.
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