‘Castration Movie Part ii’: Help Support Louise Weard’s Trans Epic
Last June, filmmaker Louise Weard—the mind behind films such as Computer Hearts—released the first part of her trans epic, Castration Movie part i: Traps. Clocking in at four-and-a-half hours, the film gained traction through word of mouth, proving the power of the stories Weard is telling here as well as the desire for dangerous, queer art that exists outside of the Hollywood system. Now, Weard is crowdfunding to complete her epic with Castration Movie part ii: The Best of Both Worlds.
The first film follows Michaela “Traps” Sinclair (played by Weard), a trans woman and sex worker in Vancouver who splits her time between seeing clients and hanging out with her group of trans friends. As the weight of the world piles up on her she decides to pursue her dream of settling down and having a child until her fantasy shatters around her.
Part two of Castration Movie continues to delve into stories of disenfranchised people facing problems at the intersection of politics and gender. Michaela returns as she does her best to be a good person in spite of everyone around her trying to use her to their own ends. The second half of this story shows Michaela colliding with community workers, detransitioners, fetish communities, right-wing grifters, and anti-trans radicals as Weard and her crew continue to explore a cross-section of contemporary life.
Weard said about Castration Movie part ii:
Like the first half of the film, I am continuing to engage many wonderful artists and friends from throughout the community as collaborators. The most exciting aspect of this project for me is being able to work with amazing people who share my excitement in searching for the limits of what is possible in countercultural DIY art. Our first crowdfunding campaign enabled so many cool people to work on this movie and I’m planning to wow you with the film’s second half.
From the outset I sought to use my artistic voice to deliver a trans story by us, for us, and about us, something ideologically complex and lived in, universal in its specificity, and never shying away from the darkest parts of the soul while reaching for the sublime. It’s a film project that empathetically treads into territory that few (if any) other filmmakers would ever be willing to explore, places that fascinate me as an artist and which I just can’t seem to shake off. I want to finish what I started.
Weard wrote, directed, and starred in the first half of the film. Aoife Josie Clements (Ravine Angel), Vera Drew (The People’s Joker), Alice Maio Mackay (T Blockers), Avalon Fast (Honeycomb), John Paizs (Crime Wave), and Lea Rose Sebastianis and Nate Wilson (The All Golden) also starred in the film. The original score was composed by Aoife Josie Clements/Ravine Angel, with additional music by Magda Baker, Alex Walton, and E_DEATH.
Weard will also star in Castration Movie part ii, with Clements, Drew, and Fast also reprising the roles. Alexandria Walton, Ada Rook, Henri Gillespi, Dakota Blais, Penny Andrews, Magda Baker, Austyn Van de Kamp, Mark Wilmott, and Robyn Adams also star.
While Castration Movie part ii has reached its fundraising goal, there are still four more days for the campaign! Learn more and support queer indie cinema here.
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