By Robert Bellissimo
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story is a moving portrait of the incredible R&B singer Jackie Shane who was one of the first black transgender performers. On the edge of stardom, she disappeared. What happened to her? This new documentary, which will be playing at the Hot Docs festival, explores her life and career. She was from Nashville, and then made her way to Boston, Montreal and finally, Toronto, a city that she loved. She worked the night club circuit in numerous cities, but Toronto was where she became a sought after headlining act.
Directors Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee interviewed Jackie on the phone near the end of her life, and these recorded conversations are used in the documentary for us to hear her story from Jackie herself. Using animation, interviews with family members, friends, and other artists, we hear more about how her story has inspired so many people.
Jackie refused to compromise who she was, which led to her music career stalling. She would eventually find that she couldn’t even go outside due to the transphobia, and prejudice she experienced. In the 1960s, she turned down an invitation to appear on the Ed Sullivan show because they told her she could only come on if she took her makeup off.
Jackie had integrity, and refused to let anyone tell her who to be, and how to look, and dress. She sacrificed her career because she refused to sacrifice who she was. She had integrity, and is an inspiration for not only the transgender community, but for anyone struggling to be themselves.
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story is now playing at the Hot Docs festival. For more information, click here.
Robert Bellissimo is a film critic, actor and acting teacher. See his reviews and interviews with film industry professionals on his YouTube channel here.
