New York Transgender community protests transphobic film, 2010

In 2008, trans woman Angie Zapata was beaten to death in Greeley, CO. Hate crimes against trans people such as this are not uncommon. So when, in 2010, information from Zapata’s murder was used in a movie trailer to promote the comedic film, Ticked-off Trannies with Knives, in New York’s Tribeca Film Festival, the transgender community, led by Media Advocates Giving National Equality to Trans People (MAGNET) and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), protested the film’s inclusion in the competition.

On 26 March, GLAAD posted a Call to Action on their website asking followers to join them in voicing their concerns about the film directly to the Tribeca Film Festival. After one day, over 800 people had sent e-mails to Tribeca. On 30 March, director of the film Israel Luna agreed to remove the references to Angie Zapata from his trailer. Also on 26 March, members of MAGNET met with staff at the Tribeca Center to explain why the film was problematic, but Tribeca refused to remove the film from their festival or to issue a statement demonstrating their solidarity with the cause.

Tribeca issued a statement in late March asserting that they looked forward to premiering the film in their upcoming film festival.

On 4 April, in response to Tribeca’s inaction, MAGNET announced on their blog that they would launch a protest to be held on 6 April in front of Tribeca Cinemas and launched their Facebook page, “Boycott TOTWK” where the public could access articles and information on the events as they unfolded. MAGNET leader and organizer of the protests, Ashley Love, also kept up a blog on transformingmedia.blogspot.com with information.

On 6 April, MAGNET (in association with Families United Against Hate, International Foundation For Gender Education, New York Trans Rights Organization, and Remembering Our Dead) rallied outside of Tribeca Cinemas. The rally included speeches by representatives from some of the associated organizations, celebrities, and LGBT activists as well as a candlelight vigil for the victims of hate crimes. Other groups, such as bloggers for Queers United, called on their followers to participate in the demonstration.

On 14 April, MAGNET announced its Education rally and protest would be held on 23 April, the night of the film’s premiere, outside of the cinema.

On 22 April, Ashley Love posted a critique of the film on MAGNET’s blog (published the following day on the Huffington Post) titled, “An Image I'd Rather Forget: A Critique of Ticked Off Tra**ies With Knives.”

Finally the campaign culminated on 23 April, with the Education Rally, which included public speeches and protesters handing out fliers to passersby and those entering the cinema.

In the end, the film was screened in the festival and the protestors were unsuccessful in reaching their main objective, however, they did receive much media attention and so they were successful in bringing the issue of transphobia into the public’s eye.