Boi: A Transmasculine Film

We interviewed artist, filmmaker, and researcher Lucien Pin (he/they, or il/iel in French) about his recent film, Boi. The American debut Boi was shown during the Uncharted Identities program at The Sie Film Center on September 20th, 2024, as part of Denver Emergent Media Festival.

Where did you grow up, and where are you living now?

I grew up in the French West coast in a small town called La Jarrie, and I studied in Nantes. Now I am based in Paris and am still a student.

Very briefly, can you summarize what types of creative projects you are involved in?

I have worked on trans self-portraits since the late ’90s. I also started a production company called Morituri in 2021. In 2020, I created a film called Boi with a group of queer artists.

In your film, Boi, you describe your experience of being a transmasculine and nonbinary person in France. There is a quote where you mention that getting people to call you the correct name in school is like squeezing blood from a rock. May I ask what the climate is like where you live and travel?

The thing that was difficult at my previous school was that no one knew how to behave in front of a trans person. Also in public, people make mistakes in France when they greet you; sometimes strangers will refer to me as “Madame.”

Now that I changed universities, people are fully aware of who I am and able to respect my gender identity. Now, in work and school, I can be free to be myself and who I am.

Can you tell us a little bit about where Boi was filmed, with whom, and under what circumstances?

This film was a self-production film created within a queer collective. Production for this film started in a political space during a time when a group of Leftist queers occupied a theater in France called “La Clef.” The collective occupying La Clef started to show films that weren’t being shown anywhere else, created a residency, and occupied the space in order to prevent the venue’s reestablishment. The occupation lasted for three years without eviction. While we occupied the theater we were sleeping there, eating there, living there–in attempts to protect it from a new buyer. The occupation of La Clef was successful and the collective who was occupying this cinema rebuilt the space a little over a month ago.

It was in this queer environment, in this occupation, where Boi was made. Being queer there was really easy, most of the people were queer. There was no mis-gendering–there was real love. People were really caring about each other and that helped.

This group accepted the film and me as I was. When I said I want to do this with the screen behind me and that I will paint a huge glass with white paint, they said they would find everything. Because we sourced everything, and we were already occupying the space, the film was shot with less than $500 Euros. That money was spent in order to purchase train tickets so that the sound and music designer, Kayodeine, could travel to the site.

How do other’s perceptions of your gender affect you?

I think like most other people, it causes strong dysphoria. It is very painful. You put so much energy into transitioning, and you don’t get the great feedback in front of you. It can be a discouraging feeling to think people aren’t going to recognize it.

How did you utilize Boi as a support for being seen in your nonbinary, transmasculine identity?

In the state of pre-medical transitioning that I was in at the time, the idea of the film was just to say, “I can be myself with people who have seen the film.” At the end of the film, I transition digitally, and my body becomes a 3D body, and in this way, a digital way, I felt like people could really see me as I was seeing myself.

The film also helped me decide to transition medically. Without this film, I wouldn’t have done it so soon.

What else was going on for you internally, socially, emotionally, during the filming of Boi? Did any of this affect the feel of the film?

Yes, and in fact, when I shot the film with the team, I discovered it was just after the first wave of COVID-19. I was diagnosed bipolar as well and was experiencing disassociation. I felt that I was out of my body because of being bipolar and because of my dysphoria. At this time, I was starting new medications and feeling that I was not myself. I was not in my body, and this affected me and the film.

How are you feeling about your film being selected to be shown here in the States?

I think in France, we are starting to have the same issues of trans youth health scare as in some states in America. It is great to show the film in America. It is really difficult to show the film here in France because of political issues. 

We have a new law from Senate (that) bans trans children from medically transitioning. When it is so difficult to send the film to festivals, it is great to see it screened and to prove other festivals wrong and that the film can have a life in of itself.

Do you see nuanced narratives by and about transgender people in other films and types of media? If so, what are some examples of this? If not, how are transgender people represented in film and media in your opinion?

In France, representations of transgender people in film are very limited. If there is a trans character, it is embodied or acted by cisgender people. There are some other short films besides Boi that are trying to portray trans people where the roles are acted by trans people.

There are some films, like yours, where there are nuanced portrayals of transgender people. What do you think the impacts of having nuanced examples of trans experiences in film and media are for trans people and society at large?

I think the impact on cis people is a stronger understanding, maybe empathy towards trans people. First, we are people. By sharing our experiences and the nuances of our experiences, we can show to cis people that we are more than trans; we are people with issues, with different lives. We can show them that we are just people with our lives and we can make art as well.

For trans people, the feedback is either great or bad. Some of them think that the film is really empowering, and it helps them get through in-between states during medical transition. Others think that the film is difficult to watch or too slow. I have also had binary transgender people have made the comment that this film does not talk enough about what it is like to be trans.

One of my goals in this film is to make other transgender and gender expansive people feel like they are not alone.

I think the film is effective in making people feel less alone. You certainly made me feel less alone in my experience of medically transitioning in my 30s.

How does Boi, as a self-portrait, relate to your larger body of research?

I am starting to be well aware of trans self-portraiture through my university research. There is a wide variety of self-portraiture in art and films by trans creatives today. There are many artists who use one main idea in there work while some other artists use many ideas. For example, someone will film their entire life for ten years and make a film out of it, while someone else might film themselves in their living room waiting for something to happen throughout their transition.

Through my research of trans self-portraiture, I have developed the concept of “Trans Matter” to convey a certain form of dark matter—It is an epistemological idea. In my research, I assert that we need to think of trans art as trans matter.

Thank you for sharing the concept of trans matter with us and for all of your insights on your film, Boi. What’s next for you and your creative practice in addition to your research?

I created a film called “Terf Anti-Terf” that has not been screened anywhere yet. My goal in this is to fight the hate that comes from TERF politics. I am also working to produce self-portraiture artwork in VR. This project has received supportive funding from the French Government.

Where can we find out more about your work?

Through my Instagram @luxpin_or my profile on Trans on Screen .

Note: You can find other artists who have worked with Denver Digerati, covered by OFM, by clicking on these links. We have interviewed past recipients of Denver Digerati’s artist in residence program including Max Mather (they/he), Paulus van Horne (they/them), and Teague McDaniel (they/he).

Images courtesy of Boi