Cowboys (2020)
NARRATIVE | GENDER | MENTAL HEALTH
SATURDAY 24 APRIL | 2:00PM
ACMI CINEMA 1
FEATURING A POST-FILM PANEL DISCUSSION
Director: Anna Kerrigan
Country: USA
Year: 2020
Duration: 83 minutes
Language: English
Genre: Narrative
Awards: Winner, Best Screenplay, Best Actor - Tribeca Film Festival 2020 Frameline Film Festival 2020 / Winner, Outstanding Performance in a U.S. Feature (Sasha Knight), L.A. Outfest 2020
Screening Location: ACMI Cinema 1, Federation Square, Melbourne | Plan your visit to ACMI
Synopsis
“There’s not very many roles for trans kids, even small roles, especially transmasculine roles. It's cool to be a part of something that's breaking barriers.” - Sasha Knight
Troy (Steve Zahn) and his young child Joe (Sasha Knight) are on the run in rural western Montana. They think they can make it to the Canadian border, if they can just manage to keep a low enough profile while they journey north. But Joe's mother Sally (Jillian Bell) has discovered they’re missing, and an outsider within the local police force, Faith (Ann Dowd), is in hot pursuit. As Faith discovers more about the case, she finds this supposed kidnapping is more than it seems. Troy is attempting to free his transgender son from the bigotry of his mother.; Troy also has mental health issues, and is without his much-needed medication.
Winner of Best Screenplay and Best Actor at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, writer/director Anna Kerrigan captures a portrait of a pivotal childhood experience with a compassionate and sturdy lens. Guided with care and vision, this modern-day western has an emotional veracity that simply must be seen.
Unclassified 15+
FESTIVAL SELECTION
PANEL DISCUSSION
Rebecca Scott
Bec has spent her whole career working in innovation, the first half of it in science at the CSIRO, the second half as a social entrepreneur. She’s particularly interested in how we can solve complex systemic issues using multi-disciplinary practice. She’s the Co-founder and CEO of STREAT, a Melbourne-based social enterprise that works towards human and planetary health. STREAT works with marginalised young people aged 16-24 years and provides them with a healthy self, job and home. The organisation runs a portfolio of 12 foodservice businesses, including cafes, an artisan bakery, a catering company, and a coffee roastery. In its first decade STREAT worked intensively with over 500 young people, and with a further 1,500 through its outreach programs and short courses. With the organisation wanting to play a larger role in addressing catastrophic climate change and biodiversity loss, STREAT’s second decade will focus on expanding its training and employment pathways for young people into green jobs. The first of these will be roles into urban horticulture and farming and be part of Moving Feast, a social enterprise sector collaboration to create a fair and regenerative food system for Victoria.
Son Vivienne (MODERAtOR)
Son Vivienne works at Thorne Harbour Health and Transgender Victoria focussing on Trans and Gender Diverse wellbeing and peer-support. They are a Board Director at LGBTQI+ youth advocacy NGO, Minus18, and Secretary of Transgender Victoria with particular interest in Access & Inclusion. Son has a background in media production and a PHD in digital self-representation, storytelling, online activism for and by queer identities. Their work on digital storytelling is published as Digital Identity and Everyday Activism: Sharing Private Stories with Networked Publics (Palgrave, 2016). Son’s less-verbose, more-embodied projects include cultivating abundance in their garden, and generosity in their children. More info at Son’s website: www.incitestories.com.au or Twitter @sonasterisk
Quinn Eades
Quinn Eades is a writer, researcher, editor, gutter philosopher and poet, whose book Rallying was awarded the 2018 Mary Gilmore Award for best first book of poetry. He is the author of all the beginnings: a queer autobiography of the body, and is currently working on two books: an autobiography from the transitioning body titled is the body home; and a sole-authored essay collection. Quinn is a Tracey Banivanua Mar Research Fellow and a Senior Lecturer in Gender, Sexuality and Diversity Studies at La Trobe University, Melbourne.
Harvey Zielinski
Harvey Zielinski is a transgender actor, writer and advocate (he/him) based in Melbourne, Australia. He is represented by Mollison Keightley Management in Australia and Grandview in L.A.
Harvey graduated from The National Theatre Drama School in 2017, as their 2017 Cybec Foundation Scholarship recipient. Harvey was the Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre graduate ensemble member for 2018, performing there in Hir (Dir: Daniel Clarke), The Antipodes (Dir: Ella Caldwell) and Suddenly Last Summer (Dir: Stephen Nicolazzo). Also in 2018, Harvey won a Casting Guild of Australia Rising Star Award and was a Heath Ledger Scholarship top ten finalist.
Harvey plays series lead Abel in the Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) directed U.S sci-fi series, Don’t Look Deeper, for Quibi, opposite Don Cheadle, Helena Howard, and Emily Mortimer. Don’t Look Deeper premiered in July 2020. Currently, Harvey is rehearsing for the the role of Laertes in Malthouse Theatre Company's production Because the Night (Matt Lutton).
Other credits include Why Are You Like This (ABC), My First Summer (FF, Katie Found, Stan), the narration for audiobook Honeybee (Craig Silvey), The Performance (audiobook - Claire Thomas), Watching (audio-play, Red Stitch Actors' Theatre), NAB - Story of Progress (voice-over artist), Gender Euphoria (Mardi Gras Festival, Melbourne International Arts Festival, Midsumma Festival), Get Krack!n S2 (ABC series, Kate McLennan/Kate McCartney) ground-breaking documentary series You Can’t Ask That (ABC), and Starting From…Now! (SBS series/web, Dir: Julie Kalceff, over 100 million views worldwide).
Harvey has always balanced his love for acting with a love of writing, and he was thrilled to receive development assistance from the Australian Broadcasting Commission for Sweet Milk Lake, his debut feature film screenplay. Harvey wants to continue to create original content that both speaks from and advocates for marginalised perspectives, and fights for the diversification of storytelling in Film and TV.
Community Impact Partner
Minus18 are champions for LGBTQIA+ young people. We’re leading change, building social inclusion, and advocating for an Australia where all young people are safe, empowered, and surrounded by people that support them.