''Open'' is a 2010 American
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
, written and directed by
Jake Yuzna. The story centers around two intertwined love stories starring real queer, trans,
pandrogynous individuals as they explore new forms of love, sex, and gender emerging at the dawn of the new millennium.
Premiering in the Panorama section of the
Berlin Film Festival in 2010, ''Open'' became the first American film to win the Teddy Jury Prize at the
Teddy Award. The film also won Best Narrative Film at the TLV Festival in Tel Aviv Israel, Best Performance at
Newfest, as well as having the Jake Yuzna named a Four in Focus filmmaker at
Outfest. Much of the film was inspired by the artist and musician
Genesis P-Orridge, who served as creative consultant on the film and is included in a post screening dialog with Jake Yuzna at
New Museum available as a DVD bonus feature on the North American release. The Detroit-based music duo
Adult created an original score for the film.
The film was produced by Narrative Films and released by Ariztical Entertainment in North America on September 27, 2011.
Plot
When the young hermaphrodite Cynthia (Gaea Gaddy) meets Gen (Tempest Crane) and Jay (Jendeen Forberg), a couple recovering from plastic surgery, she learns of Pandrogyny, in which two people merge their facial features in order to reflect their evolution from separate identities into one unified entity.
Inspired by this, Cynthia abandons her husband and suburban life to embark on a road trip with Gen through the remnants of 20th century America.
Simultaneously, a young trans man, Syd (Morty Diamond), meets a young punk man, Nick (Daniel Luedtke). After having sex with one another, and someone born of the opposite
assigned sex for the first time, Syd and Nick find themselves falling into love, a love that forces them to confront how hormone treatments have forever changed sex and relationships.
Cast
* Gaea Gaddy as Cynthia, a young
intersex person.
* Morty Diamond as Sid, a young
trans man.
* Daniel Luedtke as Nick, a young queer man.
* Tempest Crane and Jendeen Forberg as Gen and Jaye, a
pandrogynous person based on
Genesis and Lady Jaye Breyer P Orridge.
Awards
* 2010 Teddy Jury Prize at the
Teddy Award
* Best Narrative Film at the TLV Festival in Tel Aviv Israel
* Best Performance (awarded to actor Morty Diamond) at
Newfest
* Four in Focus filmmaker (awarded to director Jake Yuzna) at
Outfest.
References
External links
*
* {{IMDb title, 1538927, Open
Distributor Website
2010 3D films
American drama films
2010s English-language films
American LGBTQ-related films
Films about trans men
Intersex-related films
2010 LGBTQ-related films
2010 films
2010s LGBTQ-related drama films
2010s American films