The Oscar campaign for Sean Baker’s transgender comedy Tangerine got a boost on Monday in Los Angeles with a screening for Academy members hosted by Caitlyn Jenner, the former Olympian and reality TV star. Jenner made an appearance to champion Mya Taylor for a supporting actress Oscar nomination. Should Taylor, who won at the Gotham awards in November, and is up for an Independent Spirit award, be successful, it will make her the first transgender actor to be nominated for an Academy award.
In Tangerine, Taylor plays Alexandra, a transgender prostitute who on Christmas Eve is enlisted by her close friend Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, who is also transgender) who is tracking down her cheating pimp/boyfriend. Baker, best known before Tangerine for directing the micro-budget features Prince of Broadway and Starlet, encountered Taylor when researching the unofficial red light district of Los Angeles, at the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Highland Avenue in Hollywood. Taylor, alongside Rodriguez, worked closely with Baker to etch out the film’s plot and tone.
Jenner revealed to the Guardian following the screening that she was made aware of the film through her Hollywood publicist, Alan Nierob. When told the entire film was shot on iPhones, Jenner said she initially balked, exclaiming: “My family’s entire life is shot on an iPhone!”
After agreeing to view it however, at the behest of Nierob, Jenner said she “really enjoyed it”. Her gut reaction upon first viewing it? “Real,” Jenner said. “Real trans women playing real roles, while tackling a big issue in this community – it was great.”
For Baker, Jenner’s support means “everything in the world”. Said the film-maker: “When we shot this film, Caitlyn didn’t transition yet.”
“I wasn’t even on the radar ... except in the tabloids. Don’t we love them!” Jenner quipped.
Both Baker and Taylor said they credit Jenner for bringing the transgender movement to the mainstream, consequentially making Tangerine more relevant than ever. Said Taylor: “If we put this film out long before she started her transition, or before Laverne [Cox] got on the cover of Time, there wouldn’t be any of this. There just wouldn’t. It would be a great film thrown on somebody’s bookshelf at the back with some dust and some roaches on it. It really would have!”
During a panel following the screening, Jenner shared with the audience that Tangerine was “educational for me”. “Over the last nine months that I’ve been out, I’ve learned so much about the community,” she said. “I was totally isolated. I honestly couldn’t out myself for so many years. And then I got to a point in my life where I felt I had to live my life authentically. And maybe in doing that I could make a difference. But this is a process of education.
“Movies like this are so important because this is about honesty,” she added. “This is about actually what happens out there, played by people in our community. These characters have always kind of been on the sidelines in TV shows and films – and kind of the butt of jokes. But in this movie, they’re front and center, they’re right out in front of us.
“Stories like this are nothing but good for the entire community. It really humanizes the experience.”
The second season of Jenner’s series I Am Cait premieres this year on E!.
