Trans archaeology

This programme revisits the archive of Polish documentary cinema at moments when trans lives were only beginning to enter the cultural field of vision. Twenty years separate “Transsex” (1988) from “Trans-misja” (2008), along with a profound shift in how their subjects are represented. Seen together, the films do not offer a simple story of progress. They ask which institutions, vocabularies and cultural conventions determine how trans people can be seen and heard.