Historical presence of the "trans" in the Oscar
According to Yance Ford in official statements to AFP, this award is a seismic moment, a tornado that hopes to begin to revolutionize the film industry on a large scale. Although he is aware that it is a slow process, it takes time, patience and understanding on the part of those who are more conservative. Ford highlighted the relevance of transgender actors playing 'trans' roles. He also emphasized his work as a transgender director. The documentary "Strong Island" tells the story of the murder of his brother by a white man who escaped from justice, while the victim was baptized as the main suspect in his own death. This fact has a devastating impact on the family.
The cinema has always represented daring and recent proposals on the themes of sexuality that concern society and although it is not the first time that the theme is represented, this occasion is different because there are two films about transgenders carried out by transgenders and compete for the Oscar, which constitutes, without a doubt, a milestone. The transgender actress Daniela Vega meritoriously played Marina. The character is a young woman in mourning and a victim of the prejudices of conservative Chilean society.
"A fantastic woman", has all the qualities to be nominated and favorite to the Oscar in the category of best film in a foreign language. In the case of the documentary genre, the transsexual filmmaker, Yance Ford, is a finalist for "Strong Island", a biographical-inspired film about racism and flaws in the judicial system. As explained by the professor of the Department of Communication of the USC University of AFP, the creation of films starring transgenders is a trend that has been seen for several years.
First with 'Transparent', then the cover of Laverne Cox from 'Orange Is The New Black' on the cover of Time magazine, and now at the Oscars. Of course before "A fantastic woman", other films about or with transgenders won Oscar. It was "The game of tears" in 1992 with better script; "The boys do not cry" in 1998, it was worth the statue to Hilary Swank; "The Club of the Evicted" won three, including one for Jared Leto for his role as Rayon; and "The Danish Girl" in 2015 with Eddie Redmayne, which became a pioneering film of the movement.
In "Transparent", Jeffrey Tambor, before being fired for allegations of sexual harassment, embodied a transgender, recognized man of a bourgeois family from California, and achieved the normalization of the image of this community. However, all these productions were carried out by people whose gender identity and biological sex coincide, and not by 'trans'. Therefore, this Oscar is different. It is not only the fact that these productions are accentuated and nominated, but that they were directed or interpreted by transgender individuals, a fact that is already being recognized within the industry.