FRAMING AGNES
Jan 31 to Feb 2
Tuesday thru Thursday 6pm ONLY!
Chase Joynt - 2022 - 87m - NO MATINEES
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE TRANSGENDER RESOURCE CENTER OF NEW MEXICO!
A fascinating and celebrated figure in trans history...
In 1958, a young trans woman named Agnes entered a study about sex disorders at UCLA to get the gender-affirming care she needed, by any means necessary. Her story was long considered to be exceptional until never-before-seen case files of other patients were found hidden in a file cabinet in 2017.
Directed by celebrated filmmaker Chase Joynt (No Ordinary Man) and featuring an all-star cast of transgender artists and actors — Angelica Ross (Pose), Jen Richards (Mrs. Fletcher), and Zackary Drucker (Transparent).
Framing Agnes superimposes the past and present using re-enactment and genre-blurring storytelling techniques to breathe new life into previously unknown people who redefined gender in the midcentury. Through a reclamation of this history, Joynt acknowledges that issues of race, employment discrimination, and policing have always existed — but so too has a community filled with collaborators and allies.
“One of the most captivating documentaries I’ve seen... Exceptionally engaging.” – Aviva Dove-Viebahn, Ms. Magazine
“A film of quiet but decisive radicality.” – Richard Brody, The New Yorker
“Meta to the max. Dizzyingly prismatic yet unfailingly lucid in its examination of the many layers of gender, sexual and racial identity.” – Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times
“Formally inventive and wonderfully collaborative. A brilliant and enlivening investigation into the role of trans history and the limits of visibility.” – Shannon Keating, BuzzFeed
“Richly heady, thoughtful… visually striking. Hosts a fascinating discussion about the transgender experience in a way that simultaneously engages with the past and present.” – Nick Allen, RogetEbert.com
“A lineup of trans stars take on vividly rendered, vintage reenactments, bringing to life groundbreaking artifacts of trans healthcare.” – Matt Donelly, Variety
“A vital part of the historical record… uses vintage gender-study interviews as a prism through which to view modern transgender lives.” – Alonso Duralde, The Wrap
