Why the Oscars Are Wrong About Emilia Perez (And What You Should Actually Watch)

Polarization though somehow Industry favorite Emilia Perez has received 13 Academy Award nominations, setting the record for most nominations for a global film. The Spanish-language French musical crime film, written and directed by Jacques Audiard, is also linked to the films Gone with the Wind, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Forrest Gump and Oppenheimer. For the second highest number of Academy Award nominations ever. /Jeremy Mathai film The film was called “Swing and Miss”. With an audience rate of 32% Rotten tomatoeshe’s certainly not the only one who thinks the movie was a big fluff.

Let’s say you’re someone who loved the movie. In this case, I’m not here to tell anyone how to feel about a piece of art. But given the legitimate criticisms that have been lobbied against the film regarding both Its fleeting representation and Its depiction of Mexican cultureIt is hugely disappointing to realize how many Academy voters have become completely out of touch and are clearly voting for the veil of Emilia Perez’s performance progress. Symbolizesrather than allowing the communities represented in the film to take the lead and decide whether or not this image is worth celebrating.

Emilia Pérez won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and received a great deal of critical praise, but the vast majority of it was written by cisgender critics. The more trans critics saw the film, the more apparent the problems became. happy He even described the film as a “profoundly reactionary portrayal of a trans woman,” a sentiment I share. But those who like the film continue to hail it as “progress,” noting that Carla Sofía Gascón’s Best Actress nomination is a historic first for transgender actors everywhere (despite the fact that it implied queer and trans critics). Whoever didn’t like her movie was “stupid.”). But who gets to dictate what “progress” looks like: the well-meaning cis people desperately trying to prove they’re not transphobic by hyping up reactionary chaos, or the actual LGBTQIA+ community that’s been speaking out against it already – did the clip begin? The famous song “From Penis to Vagina” is spreading on social media?

Quite frankly, I don’t want to waste any more words talking about Emilia Perez because no amount of complaining in any article is going to change the nominations. Instead, I’m going to talk about the amazing list of transgender movies released in 2024 that are worth your time.

Although “I Saw the TV Glow” wasn’t Gene Schönbrunn’s first feature film, they really hit home with their second film about two friends named Owen and Maddie, whose obsession with a TV show called “The Pink Opaque” opens up a supernatural world that mirrors their own private. Which shattered Owen’s perception of reality and identity. It was not only welcomed One of the best horror films of the year But it’s one of the best movies of the year. If the Academy is really looking to highlight a trans film this year, why not have a poignant, poetic examination of the “egg-breaking” experience written and directed by a trans person? I Saw the TV Glow was a huge breakthrough in transgender cinema as its message of “there’s still time” inspired many people to finally accept the truth about themselves. He comes out as transgender. I can’t say that Emilia Perez had quite the same effect.

And while it’s doubtful that Alice Mayo MacKay’s “Carnage for Christmas” will be in the Oscars talks, the transgender Australian director The fifth feature film (It’s All Done Before She’s 20) is a small-budget holiday horror film currently featuring horror films 89% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film follows a true crime podcaster and trans woman named Lola, who encounters the vengeful ghost of a notorious killer in her hometown during her first holiday visit since her escape and transition. McKay’s films have been fan favorites On the streaming app Shudder For years, she has been a promising young talent who is constantly improving with each new feature. “Carnage for Christmas” is her best film yet, but that won’t be true until she releases her next film.

The record-breaking standard of “Emilia Pérez” was also praised as an international release due to the film’s “groundbreaking” theme. However, not only was there a Spanish-language transgender musical (“20 CM” from 2005), it wasn’t the only non-American transgender film released in 2024. Levan’s “Crossing” Akin went to criminal trial, despite winning Best Transgender Film. Jury Prize at both the Berlin International Film Festival and the Guadalajara International Film Festival. The story revolves around a retired teacher searching for her long-lost niece, and ends up in Istanbul where she meets a lawyer named Efrem who is fighting for transgender rights. Currently proud of 97% on Rotten TomatoesCritics praised its depiction of life in Istanbul.

2024 also saw the directorial debut of activist and drag performer Amr El Kadi with Laila, the story of a non-binary British-Palestinian drag performer who struggles to hide his vulnerabilities and desperate desire for love and approval behind his family’s trust. Drag character. Admittedly, it’s a bit uneven from a narrative perspective, but the lead performances of Bilal Hasna as Laila and Luis Greatorex as Max are so captivating it doesn’t really matter. “Layla” also isn’t afraid to dive into intercommunal conflict, something most LGBTQIA+ films avoid for fear that it provides ammunition to the absolute worst people on the planet.

The independent film circuit is home to the majority of films centered around or made by creators from marginalized communities, and has been full of killer projects telling transgender stories in 2024. Most notably, A satirical superhero directed by Vera Drew, “The People’s Joker” It played to sold-out theaters across the country as it took its twisted takedown of corporate comedy (and treating intellectual property like sacred cows) on tour, with audiences full of people wearing clown makeup.

Then there is the transcendent brilliance of Castration Movie Anthology i. Traps, directed by Louise Weard, is the most beloved film of all time. Zero interest Whether appealing to stifling cis audiences or playing a game of respectability politics, the result is a raw epic that stretches across four and a half hours. The story follows a trans sex worker named Michaela “Traps” Sinclair, who seeks out a back alley orchiectomy between seeing clients and hanging out with her friends. The film also features Vera Drew and Alice Mayo MacKay in supporting roles, and we love seeing trans filmmakers helping other trans filmmakers realize their visions!

Theda Hamel’s “Stress Positions” may be the only comedy that’s not embarrassingly awkward in the age of coronavirus quarantine: a brilliant chamber piece about people essentially trapped in one place, and features a character played by John Early who doesn’t want to… To do something with others. People but stuck with them due to safety regulations. Hamill’s sense of humor is so sharp and her delivery so perfect that when another character asks her, “But did you always know you were a woman?” She can respond with, “No, no one feels that way. I wanted to kill myself and this kind of helped me,” and the audience wants to laugh instead of calling someone for a wellness check.

Also painfully unwatched is photographer Luke Gilford’s debut, “National Anthem,” the story of a construction worker who joins a community of gay rodeo performers in the American Southwest. Eve Lindley absolutely dazzles as Skye, and the image of her wearing the American flag and tattered daisy dukes on horseback with her hair blowing in the wind makes it one of the best images in any 2024 movie.

There has never been a shortage of transgender stories in the documentary space, but 2024 has been a special year for them. The most famous is “Will & Harper,” the road-trip documentary about Will Ferrell and comedy writer Harper Steele traveling across the country to provide safety to Harper as she revisits dive sites in red states, while the pair learn how poignant their relationship can be. forward. “Will & Harper” is a perfect film for cisgender audiences A poignant look at friendship through the lens of one of America’s most famous faces.

Internationally, there was also “Reas,” a hybrid documentary in which former Buenos Aires prisoners reenact their lives and stories through flashy musical scores. Some of the ex-cons are transgender and some are cis, but all display resilience, hope, and the limitless potential of imagination even in the most difficult circumstances.

But for my money, the “converting doc” of the year was Sav Rodgers’ “Chasing Chasing Amy.” A journey of self-discovery, part film history lesson, part examination of the way movies have the power to fundamentally change us. Kevin Smith’s 1990s romantic comedy “Chasing Amy” was hailed as groundbreaking for its frank depiction of queerness, but has since been criticized as “badly old” and even *gasp* problematic, But that didn’t stop it from being one of the most influential films of Rodgers’ childhood. Sav is also the founder and executive director of the Transgender Film Center, with “Chasing Chasing Amy” serving as his first film.

This means that Oscar nominations are great, but they are not necessarily a reflection of quality or importance. Please don’t let these other great trans films waste time in favor of a film that has been overwhelmingly rejected by the communities it claims to represent.