Catching up with Louise Weard’s epic trans saga

Trans director Louise Weard’s “Castration Movie” series goes back to the real meaning of independent film. Speaking from inside a marginalized community, she’s not working for MUBI, A24, or Neon. Shot on cheap digital video, her films have been crowd-funded. They’ve built up an audience without placement in major festivals or conventional theatrical runs. A glance at the Letterboxd entries for her first two “Castration Movie” entries, “Traps” and “Best of Both Worlds,” shows an enthusiastic audience. Excess is part of Weard’s spirit. The first two chapters total nine and a half hours. “Castration Movie Chapter iii.ii” switches this up by coming in at a swift 127 minutes. After an epigram from Ted Kazczynski, the camera drifts over pools of blood in a conference room, moving towards a woman who’s just been stabbed. Without explaining the situation, the film then moves to the lives of Izzy (trans actor Avalon Fast, who’s also a director) and her boyfriend Trent (out queer, non-binary actor Henri Gillespi). Working for a mental health hotline, Izzy takes a call from a woman who spews forth intense pain for more than 20 minutes. The experience she describes, in which she saw a friend murdered by a man during a support group meeting, led to the opening scene. Despite Izzy’s best efforts, she’s unable to address the caller’s grief in a way that satisfies either of them. When she gets off the phone, Trent hands her a cup of coffee containing spoiled milk. Their relationship feels tense. In the film’s only moment of joy, Trent goes skateboarding and chats with a person about their gender. When he returns, he tells Izzy “I think I’m a trans woman” and starts going by the name Tiffany. In preparation for their ninth-anniversary dinner, Tiffany shaves off her facial hair, dons makeup and puts on a dress. Izzy refuses to accept her transition, taking it as a personal slight. Izzy’s not just upset about the changes in their relationship; she believes Tiffany’s putting on an act inspired by social media. Izzy speaks with a friend who reinforces their transphobia. Michaela (Weard), a character in “Traps,” reappears as a less-than-helpful counselor. Always handheld, the camera of “Castration Movie” has the pixelated look of late ‘90s digital video. While analog horror has adopted such a look to comment on the past, Weard uses it to create a spirit of participation. The cameraperson’s unsteady hand can always be felt. During extremely long takes, Weard reframes scenes. Going from a long photo to a close-up within them, one can feel the physical labor that went into the images. The film lets intense conversations play out in real time and drowns out music with the noise of skateboarding. It’s as harsh as a huge cup of black coffee on an empty stomach. “Chapter iii.ii” is the most disciplined section of the anthology. Its predecessor “Best Of Both Worlds” let out all of Weard’s shaggiest and most unruly tendencies. A glimpse into the life of a trans woman absorbed into a cult and then convinced to detransition when she leaves, it suffered from ragged improv. While the actors might have come up with some of this film’s dialogue on the spot, the structure is finely crafted. Although far from slick, its pacing is stronger than Weard’s earlier films. It also casts aside her edgelord tendencies. The cruelty shown here punches harder than the torture scenes of “Best Of Both Worlds.” Weard has returned to the strengths of “Traps” and propelled them forward. Weard has created her own “cinematic universe.” Although “Chapter iii.ii” works as a stand-alone feature, it’s already part of a bigger project. “Castration Movie 3/5 Year Of The Hyena” will pick up Michaela’s story. Beyond that, the “Castration Movie” anthology will encompass five films. The last two remain to be shot. As her audience has expanded — “Best of Both Worlds” is currently streaming on the Criterion Channel and available to rent via Letterboxd — Weard has avoided making concessions to the cis gaze. She’s always cared more about rough impressions of difficult lives than “good representation” or political piety. Weard doesn’t flatter her trans characters. Even as Michaela’s advice about optics proves less than helpful, Izzy’s mounting transphobia leads her to stew in her own pain (while hurting others). Weard respects the emotions of even her messiest characters. “Chapter iii.ii” lets dialogue play out in extremely believable ways. Its twist is that Tiffany’s setting out to live her best life, even into a hostile world. After she leaves, the film sticks with the ones who oppose her, revealing the infinite misery of being a TERF. “Castration Movie Chapter iii.ii. Junior Ghosts – Premorphic Drift; a fragmentary passage” | Directed by Louise Weard | Muscle Distribution | Plays BAM October 11th-13th