March 2025 program showcases rediscovered archival films and contemporary works by trans filmmakers.

Block Cinema at Northwestern University proudly presents Trans Portraiture, a groundbreaking film series running throughout March 2025 that explores historical and contemporary representations of transgender lives on screen. Timed to culminate with International Trans Day of Visibility (March 31), the series spotlights newly rediscovered and rarely screened films that bring greater awareness to the presence and resilience of trans communities in cinema.

At the heart of the series is a collection of rare short documentaries from the 1970s and 1980s, rediscovered and preserved by Block Cinema after years of archival neglect. These early films—often created by student filmmakers and screened at film festivals, medical schools, and professional conferences—offer some of the first empathetic portrayals of trans individuals in media. By pairing these works with contemporary films by trans filmmakers, Trans Portraiture bridges past and present, fostering an intergenerational dialogue on gender identity, visibility, and cinematic representation.

“Discovery is central to Block Cinema’s mission—unearthing rare and unseen works, ensuring they don’t disappear, and bringing them into public conversation,” says Michael Metzger, Pick-Laudati Curator of Media Arts at The Block Museum of Art. “These films are not just artifacts of the past; they are urgent, living histories that still resonate today. By presenting them alongside contemporary works, we emphasize the importance of preserving trans storytelling and making space for it in the cinematic canon.”

“Discovery is central to Block Cinema’s mission—unearthing rare and unseen works, ensuring they don’t disappear, and bringing them into public conversation”
– Michael Metzger, Pick-Laudati Curator of Media Arts at The Block Museum of Ar

The series opens on Wednesday, March 5, at 6 PM, with I Am Not This Body (1971), a landmark documentary funded by the Erickson Educational Foundation (EEF). Founded in 1964 by trans engineer and philanthropist Reed Erickson, the EEF funded organizations and research that focused on transsexualism and gender variance, provided transition-related care referrals, and created educational materials. Directed by Columbia University documentary students Richard Kramisen and Sonya Baevsky, I Am Not This Body captures candid conversations with two transgender women, Lyn Raskin and Deborah Hartin, alongside pioneering gynecologist Dr. Leo Wollman. Considered lost for decades, this screening marks the first public presentation of the film in years, made possible by a new scan of the last remaining print. Before the screening, Dr. Os Keyes, a researcher specializing in the history of trans science, will provide an extended introduction offering historical context.

“This film is the earliest trans-funded, as well as trans-starring, documentary on trans experiences – one that was widely shown on university campuses and served as many people’s first introduction to trans lives. Its rediscovery fleshes out and nuances the contemporaneous experiences of people who were all too-often seen as simply patients…showing them taking charge of their own narratives in a way that was rarely permitted. As both a trans person and a historian of trans medicine, I am thrilled that this film has been rediscovered and deeply privileged to be present at its first showing in 45 years,” says Keys.

On Thursday, March 6, at 7 PM, the series continues with two groundbreaking documentaries that expand the language of portraiture. Communication from Weber (1988) by West Virginia filmmaker Robert Gates introduces audiences to Lily Sabina Weber, a collage artist, political thinker, and self-described “radical, full-time third-sex-role transgender person.” Rosa von Praunheim’s I Am My Own Woman (1992) tells the remarkable story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a trans woman who survived both Nazi and East German rule. She created the Gründerzeit Museum, dedicated to material history, which became a safe space for Berlin’s queer community amidst state violence. The screening will be introduced by Elizabeth Purchell, a queer film historian and archivist, who will discuss the significance of these films and her own work in recovering and screening neglected trans cinema.

On Thursday, March 13, at 7 PM, First Person Plural: New and Rediscovered Trans Documentary Shorts will feature two recent short films by Connor O’Keefe alongside three newly digitized portrait films from the 1960s and 1970s. O’Keefe’s IMAGINE A BODY (2021) and NO MORE LONGING (2022) bookend a trio of rediscovered shorts making their Chicago debut, including TONI (1967) and RANDI (1970) by Québécois filmmaker Ron Hallis and NANCY, HENRI, AND ELIZABETH (1973), an experimental student documentary exploring the fluidity of gender and identity. The screening will conclude with a discussion featuring O’Keefe, a Chicago-based transmasculine filmmaker and educator, reflecting on the evolving role of documentary in shaping trans narratives.

“My films are centered on the belief that trans stories need to be told not only for the sake of visibility and preserving our history, but because they are infinite wells of wisdom and knowledge. Trans perspectives have so much to teach us about how to live in relationship to each other, our bodies, and how to embrace change within our lives,” said O’Keefe. “Documentary, and our engagement with it, is a vehicle for dipping into this well for the filmmaker, the participants, and the audience. “

“Trans perspectives have so much to teach us about how to live in relationship to each other, our bodies, and how to embrace change within our lives”

– Connor O’Keefe, filmmaker

DESIRE LINES (2024) by Jules Rosskam

On Friday, March 14, at 7 PM, the series closes with two recent films that offer joyful explorations of transmasculine desire and identity through acts of archival recovery and imagination. Jules Rosskam’s Desire Lines (2024), winner of the Sundance Special Jury Award, is a narrative-documentary hybrid that animates trans life and love through layers of past and present. The film weaves between a fictional storyline of time travel and self-discovery in LGBTQ archives and interviews with trans men speaking to the complexities of sexuality. Henry Hanson’s short film Bros Before (2022) brings Lou Sullivan’s journal We Both Laughed in Pleasure to the screen, channeling the punk spirit of Gregg Araki and New Queer Cinema to create a “gay camp/bro comedy starring trans men.” The screening will be followed by an in-person conversation with filmmakers Jules Rosskam and Henry Hanson.

Presented in partnership with Northwestern’s Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities and The Workshop in Trans Studies, Trans Portraiture reflects The Block Museum of Art’s dedication to uncovering and amplifying historically significant yet often overlooked works. By restoring and showcasing these films, the series underscores the importance of archival preservation in transgender cinema and ensures that these voices remain visible for future generations.

All screenings are free and open to the public. For more information and to RSVP, visit https://www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu/

Header Image: Henri David and Elizabeth Coffey in NANCY, HENRI & ELIZABETH (1973), co-directed by Robert Aibel and Lynn Fagan. © Robert Aibel. Use courtesy Robert Aibel.