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Sam Feder ’97 & Disclosure
SAM FEDER ’97
Transforming trans lives on and behind the screen
In the acclaimed Netflix documentary “DISCLOSURE,” director Sam Feder ’97 offers an unprecedented examination of the ways in which transgender people have been depicted on the screen, from early silent films to contemporary blockbusters.
A featured selection at the Sundance and Tribeca film festivals, the 2020 film tells this difficult history — filled with persistent stereotypes and tropes that have continued to shape the personal and private lives of trans people — through the voices of Laverne Cox, Jamie Clayton, Chaz Bono, Sandra Caldwell, Michael D. Cohen, Jen Richards, and many other prominent trans actors, filmmakers, and intellectuals.
“It had to be trans people guiding us and telling this history because we are the experts of our own lives,” the Peabody Award-nominated filmmaker said. “Not only is it exhausting to hear other people talk about and for us, but they don’t know about our history or about our experiences in the ways in which we do.”
The Skidmore anthropology major returned to campus earlier this year for a screening of the film, conversations with students, and a panel discussion. The panel also featured Sarah Friedland, interim director of the John B. Moore Documentary Studies Collaborative (MDOCS), who edited Feder’s last film, “Kate Bornstein is a Queer and Pleasant Danger”; environmental science major, film and media studies minor, and MDOCS DocLab Student Assistant Luna Peralta ’23; and Atsushi Akera, a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and general manager of Cafe Euphoria, a trans and gendernonconforming worker-owned café in Troy.
Although college wasn’t an easy time, Feder credits Skidmore professors and coursework with sparking an early interest in the power of media. “I remember seeing ethnographic films for the first time. I was deeply impacted by how pervasive the bias was within the storytelling,” Feder said.
At Skidmore, Feder benefited from working with sculptor Leslie Ferst ’76 and from coursework with former Spanish instructor Katica Urbanc, now a professor at Wagner College, who sparked Feder’s interest in the work of filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar.
“The relationship to his (Almodóvar’s) films with the media critic lens I was developing is what propelled me to make documentaries. I saw ‘All About My Mother,’ which touched on issues that I’m passionate about — race, sexuality, gender, AIDS, politics — in a beautifully expansive and inspiring way while also being a critique of our culture. That was when I knew how I wanted to make work in the world.”
Soon thereafter, Feder set out on a filmmaking journey. Feder’s 2006 documentary “Boy I Am” considers resistance by queer women to trans guys and seeks to open dialogue. Feder’s “Kate Bornstein is a Queer and Pleasant Danger” (2014), the first feature documentary about trans author and performer Kate Bornstein, received the Best Feature Documentary Award at Beacon Independent Film Festival.
Feder is also quick to point out that bringing attention to the experiences of the trans community also carries risks with it by putting members in the spotlight.
“This is the paradox of visibility: We all need to be seen, but that often comes with being put in harm’s way,” said Feder.
That concern has also motivated Feder to build a stronger future for the trans community: When crewing up for “DISCLOSURE,” Feder prioritized hiring trans people. When they couldn’t do that, a non-trans person mentored a trans fellow, who could learn more about the film production process.
Feder, who has also returned to Saratoga Springs for two residencies at the Yaddo artists retreat in recent years, brought that vision to campus this year, sharing personal experiences and encouragement with Skidmore students.
— James Helicke
Sam Feder ’97 is currently developing the scripted TV series “Weimar” about trans life in Berlin in the 1920s and the Netflix Original animation “Connect.” Feder is also directing the kickoff episode, “Split Screen,” for Trevor Noah’s upcoming series on MSNBC. “DISCLOSURE” is available on Netflix.
