
Taking inspiration from Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, writer and theorist Paul B. Preciado uses the nearly 100 year-old novel as a framework to investigate the very real contemporary struggles of trans and non-binary people. Orlando, My Political Biography blurs the borders between fiction and documentary, addressing issues of gender dysphoria, gender affirming surgery, the political construct of gender in society, and the bureaucracy that surrounds legal gender markers. Exuberant, joyful, and deeply thoughtful, this poetic cinematic essay is visually striking, thought-provoking, rooted in diverse trans and gender non-binary voices ranging from ages 8 to 70. The powerful and lively assemblage of 26 Orlandos gives voice to a community that has battled with government, medicine, society, and perceptions to freely live their own lives. This French documentary is a playful, deeply felt, original work of art; critic B Ruby Rich went so far as to call it “the first trans masterpiece.” Winner of the Teddy Award and Encounters Jury Prize at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival.
Special Jury Award, Teddy Award for Best Documentary, Berlin 2023
Community Partner
Oscar-Roza Miller, Janis Sahraoui, Liz Christin, Elios Levy, Victor Marzouk
France
2023
Spectrum
In French with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Executive Producer
Annie Ohayon
Producer
Yaël Fogiel, Laetitia Gonzalez, Annie Ohayon-Dekel, Farid Rezkhallah
Screenwriter
Paul B. Preciado
Cinematography
Victor Zebo
Editor
Yotam Ben David
Original Music
Clara Deshayes
Director

Paul B. Preciado
Paul B. Preciado is a writer, philosopher, curator, and one of the leading thinkers in the study of gender and body politics. Preciado is the author of six novels, including ‘Pornotopia’ which won the Prix Sade in France. Orlando, My Political Biography (2023) is his directorial debut. The film was screened at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival in 2023, and won a special Jury prize. He was born in Spain and lives in Paris.
Filmography: Orlando, My Political Biography (2023)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Miracle Worker
Academy Awards went to Best Actress Anne Bancroft and Best Supporting Actress Patty Duke for their moving portrayals of Annie Sullivan and her remarkable blind and deaf pupil, Helen Keller. "A film that storms where most biopics respectfully tiptoe."
In the Mood for Love
Wong Kar-wai's most acclaimed and popular film is a love story about two neighbours (Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung) who are drawn together by the long absences of their respective spouses + a newly released short companion piece from 2001.
In the Heat of the Night
Sidney Poitier in an indelible role a Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs, pulled in as a murder suspect when changing trains in Mississippi. He allies with bigoted local sheriff (Rod Steiger) to solve the case.
Rachel, Rachel
The story of a shy schoolteacher whose sexual awakening in her mid-30s leads to a deeper re-evaluation of her life, the film is sensitive and sympathetic, as well as a surprising directorial debut from Paul Newman.
Ghosts of the Sea
Imagine an especially poetic true crime podcast about a sailor who built his own sailboat and lived on the high seas, but lost not one, but two wives along the way... Now imagine it told from the vantage point of his daughter: Ghosts of the Sea.