DIVA spoke to Lucah Rosenberg-Lee and Michael Mabbott about the joyous process of creating Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGES BY THE NFB
It’s unlikely that you’ve heard the name Jackie Shane. The ’60s American soul and blues singer was practically erased from history despite her popular tracks like Any Other Way and links to other artists like Little Richard. Desperate to change the narrative around Jackie’s life, Lucah Rosenberg-Lee and Michael Mabbott decided to bring her story to the big screen.
In the year prior to her death in 2019, Michael recorded hours and hours of phone calls with Jackie. It is this audio-biography which makes up most of the film, allowing audiences to listen to Jackie’s story in her own words. It is remarkable to hear the brazenly joyous life of a trans woman who not only survived the 1960s, but thrived.
We spoke to Lucah and Michael about what it was like to create such a powerful documentary.
What was so powerful about this documentary is that you have a figure like Jackie Shane who was so revolutionary in her time but so few people know about her. As filmmakers, what was it like to bring her to life?
Lucah Rosenberg-Lee: It was a challenge for sure! We only had that one piece of footage. When I came onto the project, I didn’t know about Jackie at all. It meant I had to learn a lot about her very quickly from Michael’s phone calls and what she had written. For Michael and me it was about how we make her voice the centre of this.
Michael Mabbott: For me, my introduction to Jackie was through her music which was so extraordinary. It didn’t make any sense that she had been all but erased because her music was so incredible. There are some projects – and this is definitely one of them – where the story has to be told, and Jackie’s story has to be told. It was such an essential thing to be told.
A lot of trans people in history have had their stories erased. What do you hope audiences take from this film?
Lucah: I think there is this overwhelming sense that transness is “new”. Hopefully, with this story, people can see that it’s not new. At the end of the day, the trans experience has been around even longer than Jackie. It’s important for people to see that trans people are more than their gender.
Michael: Trans people have been around for forever. When we went to Nashville and spoke to the musicians who had been around Jefferson Street when Jackie was first playing we went with this question about what it must have been like for Jackie to be the only trans person in town playing. The response we got was that she wasn’t the only trans person. What I’m inspired to do is record these conversations before these elders are lost. These stories are being lost every day. I feel so lucky that we were able to tell Jackie’s story in her own words.
What I thought was so amazing about this film is that while it does delve into her hardships, it is so joyous and celebratory. Why was it so important for you to have this joyous aspect of the film?
Lucah: There are so many films where it is just a sad story. Of course, it’s true that trans people have a lot of challenges. But, when it comes to the filmmaking I like to do there has to be joy and optimism.
Michael: We took every cue from Jackie at every step of making this film. Jackie knew who she was, and she wasn’t scared to be who she was. Jackie was her true self and from that she was a joyful person. She was full of laughter. She was incredibly joyful at being remembered. And on top of that, Jackie was a hilarious person. Her mind was so quick and so funny. She was our North Star throughout filming.
What is one thing you took from Jackie and the way she carried herself?
Lucah: It was really inspiring to see and hear a trans person who didn’t let it get in the way. Only 15 years ago, I worried that if I came out as trans I would lose my job. At the same time, as we delved deeper into her life there was this level of insecurity which reminded me that for a beacon of hope, there will be challenges. To have the courage to do that anyway has inspired me. The courage to still be out here no matter what people might say.
Michael: She had a few mottos. Live and let live is one of them. The more she unpacked it, the more profound it became. I need that reminder every day. She also said, “Do what you want, just know what you’re doing”. Jackie’s professionalism is one of the many, many things that has stayed with me. She just focused on being the best musician that she could be. Every day I think about her when I wake up. Her wisdom and joy are something I need every day.
Was there one piece of information that you found really exciting?
Michael: Jackie left behind a very thorough and very detailed archive of her life. It was a documentarian’s dream. As we unpacked this archive, surrounded by her things, we found this cracked, old record. They had it digitised, and we had it sent to us as we were surrounded by her things. We pressed play, and it was an unreleased recording that she had made called Hey Mr Cool Guy. It felt like Jackie was there with us.
See a screening of Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story at the Doc ‘n Roll Festival on 2 November at 6:10pm at the Barbican theatre. It will be followed by a Zoom Q&A with filmmakers Michael Mabbott & Lucah Rosenberg-Lee. Click here for more information.
DIVA magazine celebrates 30 years in print in 2024. If you like what we do, then get behind LGBTQIA media and keep us going for another generation. Your support is invaluable.
