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Gardenia and Sedimentos

Two documentaries featuring older trans women

Older trans women often remain invisible both in mainstream society and in queer communities. Gardenia. Before the last curtain falls (2013) and Sedimentos (2021) are two documentaries that make an exception. Gardenia, directed by Thomas Wallner is about a group composed by older trans women and drag queens in Belgium who toured from 2010 to 2012 with a theatre show of the same name. The documentary features the actors of the show talking about the now and the past, about sex, love, gender, ageing, loneliness. Interview fragments are alternated with fragments from the theatre show that ran from 2010 to 2012, directed by Frank Van Laecke and Alain Platel. Following the example of the film Yo soy así (by Sonia Herman Dolz), the film explores the turbulent lives of the actors through an intimate testimony about hopes and lost illusions.

Sedimentos is a 2021 documentary by Silvestre Adrián about six trans women of different ages who travel to a small town in León. The women belong to the Barcelona collective I-Vaginarium. The documentary shows the women traversing the Spanish countryside and exploring its incredible landscapes, dancing, celebrating, opening up to each other and having arguments. The documentary makes a sensitive portrait about what unites this group of women, and what divides them. It is ‘a tender and entertaining story about empathy, individuality and the need for belonging; a present-day X-ray that both takes a glance back at the past and looks to the future, celebrating people’s extraordinary potential to be unique and incomparable’ (cineuropa.org).

Gardenia. Before the last curtain falls (2013) documentary by Thomas Wallner, duration 90’. Currently available on Netflix. The planned re-run of the theatre show ‘Gardenia - 10 Years Later’ (from 20 to 23 December 2021) has been postponed due to the tightened corona measures. See: NTGent

Sedimentos (2021) documentary by Silvestre Adrián, duration 89’. The film is shown at various film festivals.

Before the Last Curtain Falls from gebrueder beetz filmproduktion on Vimeo.

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