Ryan Chartrand“If gender is something that’s given by God, and you believe that God has given it to you, what do you do when you feel like God’s made a mistake?”
“The Believers,” a documentary that will be shown on campus tonight, attempts to answer this question and others, religious studies professor Stephen Lloyd-Moffett said.
The film details the founding of Transcendence Gospel Choir, the world’s first transgender gospel choir. It chronicles the choir’s transition from a group that struggles to reconcile faith and gender-identity issues into an award-winning musical family.
“Here are people who fervently believe in Jesus, who love the Christian faith, yet are struggling with an identity that’s challenged by the very faith they love,” Lloyd-Moffett said. “That creates an interesting situation for them.”
Beth Burkhart, the documentary’s producer and the marketing manager for The Clorox Company, said, “Even before I started on the film, I often wondered, ‘Hey, did I reject religion because I rejected religion critically, or did I reject religion because it rejected me because I was gay?’
“It’s very inspiring to see people who are so sure in their faith . and who have worked to find a place where they can safely practice their faith and find peace with that.”
But finding their place was hard, as the film shows.
“No one was hand-holding the choir and making it really easy for them to start,” she said.
While making the film, the crew felt the choir’s difficulties. “It was really hard from an emotional front,” she said.
Burkhart added that director Todd Holland formed a close relationship with the choir, which, as the choir endured hardships and successes, made painting an objective story difficult.
Nevertheless, she said working on the documentary was “thoroughly enjoyable.”
Burkhart’s own knowledge of gender-identity issues was broadened when she began working on the film six years ago. She said that she knew little about the subject and found that none of her friends knew much either – especially her gay and lesbian peers who “sometimes don’t know what to make of the (inclusion of transgender individuals in) the queer community because they’re not sure what it has to do with their lives.”
However, she said this perception is changing, and “films like this really help with that.”
From a religious studies point of view, Lloyd-Moffett said for students, “If in seeing the film they take a deeper look at what it means to be a Christian, what it means to follow God when you’re not the stereotypical norm, I think that’s a good experience.”
Burkhart said her favorite aspect of the film is watching “how it impacts people who watch it. It really is a heart- and mind-opening film.”
She added that she hopes audience members walk away from the documentary with acceptance and understanding, thinking about faith and recognizing the community building that took place.
“It just shows that you can find community in the strangest places if you look for it,” she said.
“The Believers” will be shown tonight at 7 p.m. in Bldg. 26 room 106. Burkhart and two of the choir’s members will be in attendance and, following the film’s conclusion, will answer questions from the audience.