Four queer and trans short films hit the ice/pool/court/ring
Ah, sports, a complicated topic for the queer community. On the one hand, sports can be a brutal vehicle for policing gender and sexuality. In the United States, where I live, anti-trans fascists have focused, with horrifying success, on banning trans and intersex students from participating in school sports as part of a larger transphobic agenda. Less overtly, the reproduction of toxic gender norms through sports – of both masculinity and femininity – have traumatized and harmed many. And as always, people of color suffer at the intersections of racism, transphobia, and homophobia.
On the other hand, sports have also been an arena of self-discovery, gender fuckery, and community-building for many queer and trans people. Amateur sports leagues and venues – including specifically queer or trans sports leagues – offer spaces for camaraderie and togetherness; professional sports, particularly what is usually called “women’s” sports, have both elevated queer and trans athletes and been a foundation for needed political activism.
This week’s films show some of the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows that sports can bring for queer and trans people. Enjoy these sports shorts!
“Christine, you’re taking Rooney’s spot on the first line.”
Tape, written by Shuhan Fan and directed by Jojo Erholtz, is a quiet, understated film about a sport that is anything but. Sixteen-year-old Rooney (Brittany Giles), one of the star forwards on her ice hockey team, is trying to repair her relationship with her teammate Alex (Sarah Sawyer) – who also happens to be the daughter of their coach (Joe Coffey) – in the lead-up to a pre-qualifying tournament game. Despite very little dialogue from Rooney and Alex, their connection and the tension between them is palpable; Giles in particular does an incredible job conveying Rooney’s longing, hurt, and determination through her expressions.
“Tape is inspired by a true story; when my friend was sixteen, she was harassed, bullied, and eventually kicked out of her hockey team, because she was in love with another girl. The chain of events she experienced changed her and left her with a fear of not belonging, being ashamed,” said Jojo Erholtz in a director’s statement. “Her story stuck with me for years. I knew I had to tackle it – I wanted to share the experience of becoming suddenly an outsider in one’s own social network, something I had once felt as well.” Tape portrays the risks of isolation and ostracization for queer athletes, but gives us a more hopeful ending for Rooney and Alex than the story the film is based on.
Tape
“That first jump, that first slide into the water was a massive reclaim of a sense of power, but a sense of serene power.”
The Swimming Club, directed by Ceci Golding and Nick Finegan, is a moving, joyful documentary about TAGS, a Trans and Gender noncomforming Swimmers’ Group in London. Swimming can be a vulnerable activity for trans folks, given how trans bodies are perceived and treated, so the organizers of TAGS sought to create a safe space for trans people to swim, lounge, and play without fear.
“Media portrayals of the transgender movement tend to be sensationalist, gawping, and un-representative of reality,” director Ceci Golding told Short of the Week. “We hope that The Swimming Club tells a different kind of story – an empowered and uplifting one – the likes of which is missing from the current conversation.” Watching the ease with which the members of TAGS are able to exist in the water, in their bodies, and in their full selves made me choked up, especially knowing that such spaces are rare.
The Swimming Club
“Ohhh, there’s a boy, okay.”
In Sports!, written by Eduardo Sanchez-Ubanell and directed by Kyle Krieger, Zach (Zach Graves) just wants to shoot some hoops with a buddy, but his roommate Eduardo (Sanchez-Ubanell himself) – who knows nothing about basketball – insists on coming along. When Zach’s friend Sean (Cody Callahan) arrives, Eduardo’s attention turns to encouraging Zach to be more open with Sean about who he is. Sports! is a short, funny, and uncomplicated story about coming out to a friend, but enjoyable and heartwarming nonetheless.
Sports!
“Oho, state boxing champion, Kirnay-ji. Would you like to say a few works to your idol?”
Keep Punching, written and directed by Kirnay Bhatt, is about a character also named Kirnay (Samridhi Dewan), a boxer from a town in mountainous Himachal Pradesh, who has always dreamed of representing India. Kirnay is finally on her way to nationals after becoming state champion, with the loving support of her girlfriend Kaveri (Astha Arora), who wishes she could cheer Kirnay more openly. But attempts by Kirnay’s mother (Alka Chatwal) to arrange a marriage for Kirnay with a man named Manoj (Kunj Anand) get in the way both of Kirnay’s relationship and with her training for the national tournament.
I’ve rewatched Keep Punching several times since the first time I saw it; Kirnay and Kaveri’s relationship is very compelling, filled with laughter and playfulness as much as it is with tension and unforeseen obstacles. Manoj, with his patronizing charm and violent undercurrents, is an easy-to-hate villain; Kirnay’s mother is less so, as the audience can see that she cares about her daughter even as she is forcing Kirnay into a situation she doesn’t want. When Kirnay learns to draw on the same courage in her personal life as she does in the ring, it’s a triumphant and well-deserved moment, satisfying and galvanizing for the viewers.
Keep Punching
