By Kirsty MacDonald
BLACK AND WHITE shines a sensitive light on a subject that is too often either shunned or sensationalized: the experiences of intersex people (sometimes called hermaphrodites). This beautiful and stylish film artfully explores the potent creative collaboration between Mani Bruce Mitchell and the acclaimed photographer Rebecca Swan. Portrayed through this lens, Mitchell's story introduces viewers to notions of fluid gender identity, challenging the rigid categories of "male" and "female."
At birth Mitchell was assigned the gender "male" but when investigative surgery subsequently revealed that "he" had ovaries, "Bruce" was renamed "Ruth" and reassigned the gender "female." BLACK AND WHITE picks up on Mitchell's story in 2005, weaving together her unflinching yet unexpectedly humorous insights, along with Swan's descriptions of their creative collaboration on a book about gender identity. Documenting the way Mitchell boldly expresses her own intersex identity through the medium of art, the film challenges the viewer to see Mitchell for who s/he is. Combining intimate, present-day interviews with rich archival slides, photographs and film footage, as well as playful fragments of Super-8 stop-motion animation, BLACK AND WHITE is a stunning tribute to Mitchell's courage and fierce commitment to change.
Awards
~ Austin Gay & Lesbian Int'l F F, Best Short Film
~ DOCNZ - Int'l Doc F F, New Zealand, Best Short
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