AGLIFF Spotlight: Trinidad
Austin filmmakers explore the "Sex Change Capital Of The World"
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Trinidad, Colo. has been home to many things—cattle, coal miners, the Mob—but since 1969 it’s taken on an unlikely title: “Sex Change Capital Of The World.” It was in this small Western town that the late Dr. Stanley Biber began performing gender reassignment at a time when it was all but unheard of. Soon, “taking a trip to Trinidad” was a common euphemism, and the otherwise socially conservative city became a mecca for the transgendered. In the new documentary Trinidad, Austin filmmakers Jay Hodges and P.J. Raval (Trouble The Water) explore this strange dichotomy through the eyes of Dr. Marci Bowers, a former patient of Dr. Biber’s who inherited his practice in 2004, and two of her clients (former NASA engineer Sabrina Marcus; family practitioner Dr. Laura Ellis) as they labor to build the post-op recovery center Morning Glow. The result is both an intimate story about personal growth and a larger essay on acceptance, as the town of Trinidad—like the thousands of transgendered patients it harbors—learns to cope with its new identity. Prior to the film’s première at the Austin Gay And Lesbian International Film Festival, Hodges and Raval spoke with Decider about their motivations for making Trinidad, avoiding exploitation, and how their subjects’ struggles are relevant to everyone.
Decider: What first attracted you to Trinidad?
Jay Hodges: The initial appeal was the unlikelihood that it would happen in a place like Trinidad. It’s an hour away from the nearest airport, it’s economically depressed, there’s not a lot going on, but it’s got this huge gender reassignment practice that’s been going on for decades.
PJ Raval: A lot of the articles we read said, “It’s the Sex Change Capital of the World; everyone knows that”—but we didn’t know that. Trinidad is a half-hour away from Colorado Springs, home of family values and mega-churches. It’s definitely an interesting place for it to exist.
D: Did you find resistance in Trinidad toward being the “Sex Change Capital”?
PJR: We definitely met people who would prefer it not to be. We also found acceptance, but more so we found tolerance, and there’s a difference.
JH: People have opinions, but it’s mostly live and let live. Also, the practice has done a lot for the community in keeping the hospital open, especially throughout the ’70s and ’80s, when the town went through an economic downturn. And the community loved Dr. Biber. He’d been practicing over 40 years, so everyone had a Dr. Biber story.
PJR: I think when it first started, if there had been a vote on whether or not the town should become the “Sex Change Capital,” it might have been a different scenario. [Laughs.] But now it’s just part of their landscape.
D: Did you have personal preconceptions about transgendered people going in?
JH: Absolutely. I really didn’t get the idea of someone wanting to become a woman. I didn’t realize it was about identity, or something they’d had their entire lives.
PJR: It’s something very few people feel, being born in the wrong gender. It’s something that personally I’ve never felt, so it was interesting to find out where it comes from, and how they first become aware of that. It’s like coming out: Here’s an individual who discovers something about themselves and they’re telling the rest of the world, hoping that everyone accepts it, and learning to explore it.
JH: And express it.
PJR: In that sense, everyone can understand. Even if feeling like your mind and body are disconnected is something very few people experience.
D: Were your subjects wary of being exploited?
JH: Marci did want to meet us first to find out exactly what we wanted. We let her know that we weren’t there to sensationalize.
PJR: Part of being a documentary filmmaker is you have a responsibility to portray people in a way that’s honest. That means gaining their trust. Since we made this over a four-year period, we really got to know them, and they also really got to know us. As soon as we met them, it was like making new friends—but by the way, we have a camera so can we start taping you? [Laughs.]
D: How did they react to the finished film?
PJR: They really liked it. Marci particularly was happy with the angle we took. Sabrina and Laura felt it documented a very important time in their lives, so it gave them a chance to reflect on what it was like for them a year ago.
JH: All of them appreciated the honesty—that we didn’t exploit anything, and that the drama between them was allowed to play out on its own.
PJR: Also, when we showed it at the Los Angeles Film Festival, people on the street recognized them, which they loved.
JH: Laura was like, “I’m a movie star!” [Laughs.]
D: What are your hopes for Trinidad?
PJR: We’re just excited for people to see it. We think people will find it educational, and maybe they’ll think a little bit about their own lives. Even if they don’t identify with being transgendered, recognizing the need to express yourself is universal.
