by Courtney O'donnell
VOICES
In Transit
Austin Unbound
THE FILMED-IN-PORTLAND TRANSGENDER DOCUMENTARy AUSTIN UNBOUND PREMIERED
LAST NOvEMBER AT PORTLAND'S HOLLyWOOD THEATER. THE FILM DOCUMENTS TRANS MAN
AUSTIN RICHEy'S CHOICE TO UNDERGO SEx REASSIGNMENT SURGERy (SRS) — IN THIS CASE UP-
PER SURGERy. AUSTIN NOW IDENTIFIES AS A STRAIGHT MALE. HE IS ALSO DEAF, GIvING THE
FILM THE STATUS OF ENCOMPASSING TWO DIFFERENT CULTURES.
Since its premiere, Austin Unbound has been a hit on the film festival and college lecture circuit. Both Austin and
the filmmaker, Eliza Greenwood, were able to attend a number of these showings. I recently caught up with Eliza
and fired off these questions:
Courtney O’Donnell: In your role as a doc filmmaker, what things did you learn about trans people that you hadn't
known prior to starting the project?
Eliza Greenwood: Before I met Austin I came from a place of judgment, assuming that people should own and ac-
cept the bodies they were born with. you see, body image and ownership of my gender and sexuality had come so
easily to me. Austin’s insistence that he is a straight male totally challenged my beliefs, but it resonated with me. I
was inspired to ask if we could make this documentary because I wanted others to be able to meet him, too.
CO’D: Are there aspects of trans people (or being trans) that ought to
be more widely known about in the LGBTQ community?
EG: The community should be aware that there is an inclination in the
media to tell surgery stories about trans people, and that leads to harm-
ful assumptions that, “all people who are trans want surgery.” I admit
Austin Unbound is a “surgery” film.
CO’D: Did you face any resistance from the LGB or T communities in
trying to get the film made?
EG: Our community really embraced this project as many people al-
ready knew and were inspired by Austin’s story. We were pleased to
realize that the LGBT community had more sources for grants and pri-
vate donors than our deaf community offered. We were awarded grants
from the Pride Foundation, the Equity Foundation, and the Sisters of
Perpetual Indulgence to help get the film made, for example.
CO’D: Did the filmmaking-friendly, LGBT-friendly town of Portland
work to your advantage?
EG: Portland not only has a strong LGBTQ culture, but also a thriving
film community. I’ve found both to be helpful and engaging.
austin Richey and Eliza Greenwood.
Photo courtesy of Eliza Greenwood.
In Transit is written by Courtney
O’donnell for Just Out. Courtney
is a Transgender actress, advocate,
and writer, including being a regu-
lar contributor to The Huffington
Post. She is also the star of the film
'lexie Cannes'. Reach her at
Courtney@JustOut.com.
12
JustOut.com
Eliza tells me that on October 18 there will be another screening of Austin Unbound at Portland’s Clinton Street
Theatre (2522 SE Clinton). It will be a fundraiser to help provide SRS for a community member.
It has been a long journey for Austin Unbound. The years spent in post-production are now paying off handsomely
for the filmmakers. My congrats to them. As for Austin, he continues to live in Portland, still the quite cool guy we
met in the film. g
austinunbound.org
October 2012