No Ordinary Man: A Case Study in Cross-Border Collaboration

This event was recorded live on Thursday, July 15, 2021.

DOC NYC PRO and The Consulate General of Canada in New York present a 90-minute case study on new documentary No Ordinary Man, the story of revered American jazz musician Billy Tipton. For decades, Tipton’s life story was framed as the triumph of an ambitious woman who passed as a man in order to pursue a music career. In No Ordinary Man, Canadian directors Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt, American co-writer Amos Mac, and Canadian producer Sarah Spring, reimagine Tipton’s story, painting a portrait of a musician and celebrated trans icon. Through the film, the filmmakers and Tipton’s son Billy Jr. reckon with Tipton’s complicated and contested legacy: how do you tell the story of someone who was hiding in plain sight yet desperate to be seen?

In this session, filmmakers Chin-Yee, Joynt, Mac and Spring join us for an intimate conversation about the film’s production and funding journey, exploring topics critical to any film team considering cross-border creative collaboration or funding, including:

• navigating cross-border doc collaborations, from team development to production funding to distribution
• understanding Canadian funding structures, including pairing Canadian funding models with American talent
• building a representative film team and advocating for trans representation among above-the-line crew

Live captioning will be provided. All registrants may participate in the live session, and will also receive access to the recorded event and a written transcript. Tickets are non-refundable.

Session co-presented by the Consulate General of Canada in New York.

Tickets for this PRO session are $19; a combo ticket, good for the PRO event and a theatrical screening of No Ordinary Man at IFC Center in New York City (opening Friday, July 16), is available for $25*.

If you have questions about registration, please email ticketing@docnyc.net. For questions about accommodations and accessibility, including requests for live ASL interpretation, please email accessibility@docnyc.net.

No Ordinary Man opens for a limited engagement at IFC Center on Friday, July 16. A national release from Oscilloscope Laboratories will follow.

*Combo ticket purchasers will receive a redemption code allowing them to book a ticket for any screening (space permitting) of No Ordinary Man at IFC Center for no additional cost. Redemption codes will be sent out and redeemable when tickets go on sale, approximately 6pm on July 12. Codes will not allow access to sold out shows.