Michelle Anne Farrell is a filmmaker. So was Joe O’Ferrell.
Arguably the most-anticipated feature-length documentary at the D.C. Independent Film Festival Monday evening, “Unraveling Michelle,” (A Tough City Bitch Production), recounts the full transgender transformation of filmmaker Joe O’Ferrell into Michelle Anne Farrell – spending a worthy 85 minutes of self-conscious energy grappling with issues of authentic self-representation, personal struggle and gender identity.
And it is still in progress.
Director Dan Schaffer and producer/star Farrell spoke in a panel discussion after the screening. And since the identity of Michelle is constantly developing, a central question was how she and Schaffer would know when the film itself was finished – a question that even to the filmmakers went largely unanswered. That is, the documentary is still in progress, and tracks in montage scenes by John Mayer and The Ataris, for example, could be nixed since the film is now being re-scored.
Onstage, Farrell and Schaffer discussed the experience of filmmaking and life after completion of “Unraveling Michelle.”
“I go about my business and do my job. I’ve only lost a few jobs now,” Farrell said. Though peers in the film are presented as accepting, some conflict in the film is exposed in the deterioration of a friendship Michelle had with former business partner Eric. Though Eric initially reads as accepting, he inevitably leaves to work on his own. He still keeps in some contact with Michelle, but confesses to the camera that things since “the T thing” have changed. For example, in a tense moment, Eric voices his noting that he’s not as close to Michelle as he used to be. And though previously in the film the viewer witnesses him voice support for Michelle by attending a transgender conference, one can’t help but notice him squirming a little – something apparent in this final confession.
“I think I lost about four friends and gained a lot more,” Michelle said, reflecting on the experience.
The film itself discusses Farrell’s past: spanning from childhood, to time as a high school athlete and eventual drug addict, breaking with the tragic death of a past love – all chronicling Farrell’s shift from self-loathing toward acceptance.
By offering commentary from doctors, friends and Michelle herself, the film positions itself as a classic story. That is, “Unraveling Michelle” is quirky, self-reflexive and honest, contrasting moments of intense agony with humor.
What’s next? Farrell said the production team aims not only to complete the “documentary in progress,” but is hoping to pitch a reality series surrounding “Unraveling Michelle.”
