Laurie Townshend
Country
Canada
Format
Feature film
Year
2024
Duration
1 h 30 mins
Previous Festivals/Awards
Official Selection, 2024 Hot Docs Festival
Stream
Icons
Interests
Activism, Asian, Black, BOLD, Canadian, Family, Performing Arts, RE:Focus
Guests
Laurie Townshend, Staceyann Chin, Alison Duke, Justine Pimlott, Ngardy Conteh George
How do you raise a child when your own mother abandoned you? In a remarkable story of healing and forgiveness, Jamaican-American poet and LGBTQ+ activist Staceyann Chin, renowned for performances in Def Poetry Jam and hit solo shows like MotherStruck!, radically re-imagines the essential art of mothering. In seeking her elusive mother—a trail that leads to Brooklyn, Montreal, Cologne and, finally, Jamaica—Staceyann and her daughter forge a new sense of home.
June 1, 2024 1:30 pm TIFF Lightbox 1 350 King Street West Toronto, ON
When true-crime podcaster and sleuth Lola visits her hometown for the first time since running away and transitioning, the local urban legend, The Toymaker, is the least of her worries. But when...
In this fresh coming-of-age story, an 18th birthday mushroom trip brings free-spirited Elliott face-to-face with her wisecracking 39-year-old self. But when Elliott’s “old ass” starts handing ou...
Helen lives with her ex-husband, his girlfriend, their new baby, and her ex-mother-in-law, who luckily remains her trusted ally. As she goes back and forth between working at the chicken factory...
Aisling Chin-Yee
Director
Chase Joynt
2020
1 h 20 mins
Canadian, Performing Arts, RE:Focus, Trans
Billy Tipton, the influential jazz musician, became more of a sensation when, upon his death, it was revealed that he was a trans man and the late-20th century world was unable to accept his identity.
For decades, Tipton’s private life was never a concern. His eclectic talent for jazz music spoke for itself and he mapped out a fulfilling career with his wife and adopted children. When his death provoked a media frenzy surrounding his gender identity, Billy Tipton became both the target for tabloid headlines and an unlikely role model for the transmasculine community. Tipton’s story is the portrait of an unlikely hero, stitched together in this documentary with accounts from Tipton’s son and trans artists in awe of his quiet accomplishments.
No Ordinary Man captures Billy Tipton’s complicated legacy, a burden for some and an inspiration for others, with in-depth critiques and affirmations for the trans icon and his portrayal in the media.
April 2nd to April 25th, 11:59 PM (ET) Online
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