Excerpt /// Through The Skin \\\ 5 minutes

/ Through The Skin \

18-minutes, color/b&w 16mm & super-8 film, video, 2002

This experimental autobiography retraces the trauma of an androgynous child on the brink of puberty through a story of gender deviance diagnosed as a mental disorder. Through the Skin explores the complexities and implications of a growing relationship between a parent and child, and provokes universal questions on the meaning of gender.

/ Text \

A story about love, lithium, and gym teachers. Fragmented into five parts – Innocence, Toxic Language, Lithium, Electrocution of Heart, and (Re)Language – this personal account follows the story of a trans-identified person as he begins to rebuild trust with his parents. With the severe emotional distress of the onslaught of puberty, he was misdiagnosed and treated with bi-polar disorder at age 14. This pathologizing of his genderqueerness caused an early disconnection between his body and mind, yet later served as a catalyst for self-acceptance through reclamation of language. Through found footage, degenerative uses of film and video, and excerpted conversations with family members, doctors and energy healers, Through the Skin depicts the tenuous relationship between the filmmaker and his parents, as well as his body’s relationship to a vastly polarized gendered society.