Beyond Gender communities -Sidney and friends

Director: Tristan Aitchison

DOP: Tristan Aitchison, Zahra Moloo

Music: Paul Terry

Release:               2018

Duration: 75 min.
I always wanted to do this in a way that is not sensationalist but soft and touching, the sort of film you would want to give a hug to…that is Sidney & Friends. — Tristan Aitchison


TRAILER

http://planettransgender.com/sidney-and-friends-kenya/ 

This film is guerrilla and zero-budget. We have been able to complete the film through incredible hard work from our post-production team whom have contributed their talents and time.

REVIEW 1 -

Sidney and Friends Kenya’s Hidden Trans Community

Added by Kelli Busey on December 9, 2017.

Coming to film festivals in 2018, “Sidney and Friends” a documentary delving into Kenya’s transgender community as never seen before.
They live in the shadows disowned by family and disconnected from community, in a constant struggle for survival yet are amazing in their love of life. 

The making of Sidney and Friends fortuitous, to say the least. Filmmaker Tristan MG Aitchison, from the northern highlands of Scotland, felt compelled to travel to Kenya where he said that knew he’d find a story, but had no idea what it was. This is where he found the first of many of Sidney’s friends in Kenya, arguably one of the most transphobic places on earth. 

“I didn’t set out to make this film when I traveled to Kenya in 2013, but by chance, I met someone… Guillit, a transboy who wanted to be heard…” said Aitchison “I was welcomed into the small community where other filmmakers and journalists had been refused access…” 

“Some interviews were incredibly difficult. Our contributors have suffered traumatic life events and there were a number of times I had chills at what I was being told. Sidney recalls one occasion he was being beaten by a group with clubs and sticks while his mother just stood and watched.

REVIEW2 -

The challenges for LGBT people around the world can be very different and yet often share common themes. While there’s been unprecedented attention played to the transsexual community in the west in the past year or so, as well as converage of increasingly anti-gay attitudes in parts of Africa – what is it like to be transgender and/or intersex in Kenya?
That’s what Scottish filmmaker Tristan MG Aitchison’s Sidney & Friends accidentally set out to explore in Sidney & Friends, focussing on interviews with six members of the intersex and transgender community of Nairobi. While in western countries, many of the problems the trans* community faces involve dealing with intolerant elements of society, in Africa the issue is often that people don’t even know they exist.

REVIEW3 -

El documental britànic Sidney & Friends, dirigit per Tristan Aitchinson ha estat el gran guanyador de la secció oficial del 15è Festival Internacional de Cinema Social de Catalunya que s'ha clausurat aquest diumenge a la tarda a l'Auditori Agustí Soler i Mas de Navarcles.


El documental guardonat Sidney & Friends, que tracta la història d'un jove intersexual a Kenia que ha de lluitar contra la incomprensió de la seva família, que el vol matar perquè pensa que està posseït pel dimoni, i que troba en un grup d'amics transgèneres l'autoestima, amor i un sentit de la vida. Ha recollit el premi el seu director Tristan Aitchinson, que sensiblement emocionat, ha agraït el premi i el seu missatge de denúncia i de respecte als drets humans.

REVIEW 4 - Regio7

Durant l'acte de cloenda, els premiats van poder dirigir unes paraules al públic. La majoria són de fora de Catalunya i van enviar vídeos d'agraïment. Però el britànic Tristan Aitchison va assistir a la cita i va compartir la seva història amb Regió7. 

«Vaig viatjar a Kenya per visitar la meva germana però no m'imaginava que em trobaria amb aquesta història. Tot va ser fruit de la casualitat», va explicar el premiat. Mentre s'emocionava, va comentar que va trobar una persona intersexual que se sentia incompresa i no tenia veu. «Tenia una càmera, un micròfon i molta curiositat per conèixer aquella història», va recordar Aitchison. Assegura que va trigar gairebé quatre anys a acabar el documental, perquè no tenia ajuts econòmics. «Però ha valgut la pena perquè ara el jove ha rebut un raig de llum d'esperança i no se sent tan sol», va afirmar el cineasta.

The Divine Order - 2017 -Die göttliche Ordnung

The Divine Order is set in Switzerland in 1971 where, despite the worldwide social upheavals of the previous decade, women were still denied the right to vote. When unassuming and dutiful housewife Nora (Marie Leuenberger, winner of a Best Actress award at Tribeca) is forbidden by her husband to take a part-time job, her frustration leads to her becoming the poster child of her town’s suffragette movement. 

Interview (13:28) youtube with Director Petra Volpe

Her newfound celebrity brings humiliation, threats, and the potential end to her marriage, but, refusing to back down, she convinces the women in her village to go on strike...and makes a few startling discoveries about her own liberation. Uplifting and crowd-pleasing, this charming, captivating film is a time-capsule that could not be more timely.

Released in August 2017, it was selected as the Swiss entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. The Swiss film Die göttliche Ordnung was shown in the U.S. with the translated title The divine order.

Review1

Women in some cantons were afforded the right to vote on cantonal issues in the 1960s. But it was not until 1971 that a referendum finally led to a law being passed that allowed women to vote on national matters. A new Swiss film sheds light on (and endearingly pokes fun at) this fact, and offers a semi fictionalized account of what life was like in Switzerland in the early 1970s.

Review2

The laughs are mixed with clumsy, comradely tenderness between the women. “I wanted to prove that a feminist political film can be funny,” Volpe says, “because humour is a wonderful seducing force in cinema, and it really opens people up. Once you’re allowed to laugh, you’re also allowed to cry.” (...)

But marital law that a man could forbid his wife to work and that women couldn’t open their own bank accounts didn’t change till 1988 in Switzerland. (...)

As Volpe has taken The Divine Order around European and American cinemas, she’s noticed a chord being struck. “I’ve learned that there’s a huge desire and longing for female stories,” she observes. “And that it’s possible to create empathy for injustice with movies. Something that also made me a bit sad is that women are extremely grateful for this movie. 

ROTTEN TOMATOES _46 reviews

===== BONUS TRACK

REVIEW FRENCH_   « Les Conquérantes » : les Suissesses se rebiffent

In FRENCH vlog: Cemilchosesatedire (9:23) 

In FRENCH audio: La chronique de Pascal Bernheim (9:37) 

REvolting Rhymes -Roald Dahl

LRRH and the Wolf

The spectacular Roald Dahl  shares one of his shorter nursery rhymes. 

For those of you who haven't heard of Revolting Rhymes, its basically Dahl's take on classic fairy tales. For example, Snow White is a gambler, Goldilocks is a thief and Little Red Riding Hood is a hunter. 

My favourite :

 YOUtube story about Red Riding Hood.

outset

As soon as the wolf began to feel
That he would like a decent meal
He went and 1-………………. on Grandma's door
When Grandma opened it, she saw
The 2-……………….  white teeth, the horrid grin
And Wolfie said, "May I come in?"
Poor Grandma was terrified,
"He's going to eat me up," she cried.
And she was absolutely right.
He ate her up in one big 3-……………….
But Grandma was small and 4-……………….
And Wolfie wailed, "That's not enough!
"I haven't yet begun to feel
"That I have had a decent meal!"
He ran around the kitchen yelping,
"I've got to have another 5-……………….!"
Then added with a 6-………………. leer,
"I'm therefore going to wait right here
"Till Little Miss Red Riding Hood
"Comes home from walking in the wood"
He quickly put on Grandma's clothes.
(He hadn't eaten those.)
He dressed himself in coat and hat.
He put on shoes and after that
He even brushed and 7-………………. his hair,
Then sat himself in Grandma's chair. 

body

In came the little girl in red.
She stopped. She 1-……………….. And then she said,
"What great big ears you have, Grandma."
"All the better to hear you with" the Wolf replied.
"What great big eyes you have, Grandma"
said Little Red Riding Hood.
"All the better to see you 2-………………. " the Wolf replied.
He sat there watching her and smiled.
He thought, I'm going to eat this child.
Compared to her old Grandmamma
She's going to taste like 3-……………….
Then Little Red Riding Hood said, "But Grandma,
what a lovely great big 4-………………. coat you have on."
"That's wrong!" cried Wolf. "Have you forgot
"To tell me what BIG TEETH I've got?"
"Ah well, no matter what you say,
"I'm going to eat you anyway."

epilogue
The small girl smiles. One 1-………………. 2-……………….
She 3-………………. a pistol from her 4-……………….
She aims it at the 5-………………. head
And bang bang bang, she shoots him dead.
A few weeks, later in the wood
I came across Miss Riding Hood.
But what a change! No 6-………………. of red,
No silly hood upon her head.
She said, "Hello, and do please note
"My lovely furry  7-………………. 8-………………."

TEXT__________As soon as the wolf began to feelThat he would like a decent mealHe went and knocked on Grandma's door.When Grandma opened it, she sawThe sharp white teeth, the horrid grinAnd Wolfie said, "May I come in?"Poor Grandma was terrified,"He's going to eat me up," she cried.And she was absolutely right.He ate her up in one big bite.But Grandma was small and toughAnd Wolfie wailed, "That's not enough!"I haven't yet begun to feel "That I have had a decent meal!"
He ran around the kitchen yelping,"I've got to have another helping!".Then added with a frightful leer,"I'm therefore going to wait right hereTill Little Miss Red Riding HoodComes home from walking in the wood"He quickly put on Grandma's clothes.(He hadn't eaten those.)
He dressed himself in coat and hat.He put on shoes and after that

He even brushed and curled his hair,Then sat himself in Grandma's chair. In came the little girl in red.She stopped. She stared. And then she said,"What great big ears you have, Grandma.""All the better to hear you with" the Wolf replied."What great big eyes you have, Grandma" said Little Red Riding Hood."All the better to see you with" the Wolf replied.
He sat there watching her and smiled.He thought, I'm going to eat this child. Compared to her old GrandmammaShe's going to taste like caviareThen Little Red Riding Hood said, "But Grandma, what a lovely great big furry coat you have on.""That's wrong!" cried Wolf. "Have you forgot"To tell me what BIG TEETH I've got?""Ah well, no matter what you say,"I'm going to eat you anyway."
The small girl smiles. One eyelid flickers.She whips a pistol from her knickers.She aims it at the creature's headAnd bang bang bang, she shoots him dead. A few weeks, later in the wood came across Miss Riding Hood.But what a change! No cloak of red,No silly hood upon her head.he said, "Hello, and do please note"My lovely furry WOLFSKIN COAT."

Fallen idols XXI - modern life freedom and culture contexts

ICON.  imageIconoclasm is the social belief in the importance of the destruction of icons and other images or monuments, most frequently for religious or political reasons.

It is clear that the last word has not been written on out past Leaders, Heroes, Icons, nor is it likely to be in the future. 

A multitude of writers  have produced,  studies on them ... and the best/worst is yet to come.  

Find a wide spectrum, from the variously hagiographical or informative, to the critical and contentious! 

TASK. Have a go at these cases. Then, 
 Prepare a speech on a Fallen Idol of your liking.

• (Mao Tse Tung, Columbus,  Nixon, ...)  

SECTION  1__    Asian Leader: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

The truth about Mahatma Gandhi: he was a wily operator, not India’s smiling saint

• The Indian nationalist leader had an eccentric attitude to sleeping habits, food and sexuality. However, his more controversial ideas have been written out of history.   Article here
• news- BBC 

SECTION  2__       American Leader on race:  J. Marion Sims 

New York just removed a statue of a surgeon who experimented on enslaved women -Article here

• The statue of J. Marion Sims, known as the “father of gynecology,” was moved as the US grapples with its history.

SECTION  3__  POLITICS -  The rights of citizens
  
            MP and Minister (60-63) in  UK   1968-  50 years ago   Enoch Powell 


           "Rivers of blood" speech  controversy 

10,000-year-old skeleton - Cheddar MAN

•        SLOGAN:    

            Back Britain, not black Britain   

•  “Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad. We must be mad, literally mad, as a nation to be permitting the annual inflow of some 50,000 dependants, who are for the most part the material of the future growth of the immigrant-descended population. It is like watching a nation busily engaged in heaping up its own funeral pyre.”   - article here

• The Windrush generation (1948-2018) - here

Theresa May sorry for Caribbean citizens immigration mix-up

SECTION  4__    MEDIA     Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby: Fallen Idol -article

The dishes from our Sunday BBQ had been washed and put away. The smell of brisket and strawberries hung in the air. It was Phoenix in 1964. The summer heat made outside entertainment undesirable, so our neighbor from down the street gave my father a record to play on our homemade Hi Fi system. “You’re going to love this,” he said as he settled onto the couch next.....

Bill Cosby retrial: Comedian paid sexual assault accuser $3.4m in previously undisclosed settlement

SECTION  5__    SOCIETY - USA - Harvey Weinstein

Hollywood Figures Who Have Spoken Out Against Media Mogul

A crowd against the producer amid sexual misconduct allegations.

timeline so far (Feb 2018) : How the scandal unfolded... here

EPILOGUE:

heroes of popular culture we said farewell  ...here

WAR'S AMISS. Word lover’s awarded a whirled World

TASK_1. What did J. Joyce intended to express is this sealed sentence:

   They lived und laughed ant 

loved end 

left.

TASK_2. Before entering the subject matter read aloud this sentences, getting the full benefit of all its mighty wit...

SET ONE.  Subject? Verb? ambiguity....

 Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

 Subject1? ..............   Verb1? ..............

Subject2? ..............   Verb2? ..............

1. · What’s the definition of a will? It’s a dead giveaway.
2. · A backward poet writes inverse.
3. · In democracy, it’s your vote that counts; in feudalism, it’s your count that votes.
4. · She had a boyfriend with a wooden leg, but broke it off.
5. · He often broke into song, because he couldn’t find the key.

How do they increase their meaning/ambiguity. Tell your partner/s.

SET TWO.

· Every calendar’s days are numbered. 

· He had a photographic memory which was just never developed. 

· When you’ve seen one shopping centre, you’ve seen a mall. 

· Those who jump off a Paris bridge are in Seine. 

· When an actress saw her first strands of grey hair, she thought she’d dye.

· Marathon runners with bad footwear suffer the agony of defeat.

TASK_3.  

Two years ago author Lynne Truss hit the Christmas best-seller list with the book Eats, Shoots and Leaves, subtitled "The zero-tolerance approach to punctuation".

The title alludes to how punctuation, or a lack of it, can utterly change the meaning of a sentence.

Take the peculiar title, which is from a joke:
A panda goes into a café, orders a sandwich, eats it, takes out a revolver, fires it into the air, and goes out. When the waiter calls to ask what is going on, the panda plunks a badly punctuated wildlife manual onto the table and growls:
"Look me up."  

The waiter finds the entry:

"PANDA. Large, black-and-white, bear-like mammal native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

TASK_4. We have all heard the expression, the last straw that broke the camel’s back and have felt that one more thing could send us over the edge in times of stress.

A comma can change the whole meaning of a sentence. According to Toronto's Globe and Mail for August 6, 2006, a misplaced comma in a contract to string cable lines along utility poles may cost the Canadian company a whopping $2.13 million.

TASK_5. Missing punctuation leads to much ambiguity, meaning that we have to ask the writer what was meant, rather than it being crystal clear in the first place.

Get the punctuation right and the message will be clear.

Here is a classic illustration of altering punctuation to change meaning:

Do males/females write the same?  

· A woman, without her man, is nothing

· A woman: without her, man is nothing.

Colon Brackets Dash comma Hyphen and Parentheses at Exclamation Point. At the end...Period.

INTRO. Imagine a scene with those badly known Greek Punctuation gods. 

• Do you know their names:
• NOT Aphrodite, but Apostrophe,
• NOT Daphne, but Hyphen, and so on. "here" "come" ...
• We can end up in a sad end full of frustration and grief. PERIOD. 
• As in the perverted tale of Echo and Narcissus

• WHO: Someone called Colon
• ACTION: Someone  embraces somebody
• WHOM: those named Dash or Hyphen and Parentheses. 
• WHERE: at Exclamation Point. 
• WHEN; At the end... Period.

• MY PUNCTUATION YARN:

In the beginning, Colon embraces Apostrophe at Exclamation Point while observed by Dash and Hyphen and Parentheses ran away to tell Semicolon. Period yawns himself.

TASK ONE: 

It’s not just the addition or lack of commas that can change meaning. This example shows how the placement of punctuation, such as full stops/periods, commas, and question marks, can turn something that seems loving and innocent into something more sinister:

       Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior.  

You have ruined me  for other men.   I yearn for you.  I have no feelings whatsoever when we’re apart.       I can be forever happy. Will you let me be yours?  

    Gloria

TASK TWO: 
How about picturing in your mind these 4 typography signs:

        hyphen  ___  semicolon ___  ellipsis  ___ dash  


check below:

How about naming these 5 typography signs:

&  ____  @  ____  \ _____ "  ____ # _______

check below:

General typography ampersand & asterisk * at sign @ backslash \ bullet • caret ^ dagger † ‡ degree ° ditto mark ″ inverted exclamation mark ¡ inverted question mark ¿ number sign, pound, hash, octothorpe #

KEY task one: 

Now let’s see how those same words read with the punctuation in different places:

        Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is.  All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior.  

You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we’re apart, I can be forever happy.  

Will you let me be?      

     Yours,  

          Gloria

TASK THREE: Now, your 2 tasks. 

• Copy the two letter of your choice and add your punctuation.
• 
  
• Then, ... Check with the one on the given BBC webpage below.

The Magazine, in association with the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP), challenged readers to write a thank you letter with two meanings.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4583594.stm

LETTER ONE.   Dear mother  …. From Matthew

dear mother  in law  there is nothing to make me say thank you but the quality of your gifts compels me at least to write to tell you how I feel thank you so much for the presents I was expecting nothing more than a token yet  again you have exceeded even your own incredible standards it was a shame you had to stay here for such a short time I thought I might have coped, but it was unbearable seeing you leave  the relief was immense when I heard we might see you again soon I wanted to end it all by saying goodbye now I hope I will not have to say it to you again for a long time if you have the opportunity to spend Christmas elsewhere next year please do not much love  Matthew

LETTER two.          Dear  Mandy  From CLAIR

Dear Mandy just a quick note to say I received your gift I was very surprised  when I saw the effort you had gone to I nearly cried  when I heard that you were coming for our roast turkey lunch I looked forward to the Christmas day celebration far more disdaining others no doubt spending the festive season feeling drunk  with joy we sang the classic yuletide carols however the horror on the streets tonight revellers ignore the message of Christmas and down pints instead I wish I could be there to help them Clair.

LETTER three.   Dear Santa from MATT

Dear Santa you really made my year when I heard you had fallen from your sleigh I was sad  to see such wonderful gifts lined up under my Christmas tree  my eyes lit up when I unwrapped your gifts I knew that the spirit of Christmas was still alive it was terrible hearing about your accident  the best piece of news all year is your safe return  things yet to come you say Christmas is a time to love and share I disagree with Scrooges everywhere Christmas is slowly fading thanks for making it so fantastic Matt

LETTER   four .  Dear Auntie Maude  from rob 

Dear Auntie Maude I was amazed to receive yet again the perfumed soap you've compelled me to appreciate for three straight Christmases that my family had suffered due to my body odour I felt such delight  I took the soap to the bathroom I normally enter only once each July not that I wish to wash never could a mere gift change that no your stubbornness fuelled my resolve  to drive my body to the soapy unknown my family have sued me for cruelty and threatened random hose attacks I cannot allow that water and skin should meet with dignity intact Rob

  LETTER  five.   Dear Aunt Agatha from TOM

Dear Aunt Agatha  sorry it has taken me so long to write telling you how much I liked your Christmas present this year only I didn't have the time to take it back and get another would be out of the question I suppose for you to be so kind shouldn't come as a surprise after what you bought me last year it was splendid news about Uncle Brian dying to see you again in the New Year would be awful to lose touch Mark