What would you do for a sister in trouble? Especially for a sister who used to be a brother? That's the tantalizing question lurking behind Stealth, a crime-thriller short that stars transgendered actress ( and former Chicago resident ) Alexandra Billings ( pictured: Alexandra Billings ( center ) and Marlo Bernier ( right ) on the set of Stealth ) . The film revolves around the two Terranova sisters who must decide how much help to offer when Billings as their third sister, who has transitioned from male to female, comes to them in deep trouble.
The screening of the 20-minute short will take place Tuesday, June 30, at Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, at 8 p.m. A portion of the $20 tickets will benefit the Chicago Gay & Lesbian Hall of Fame. Billings will be on hand for an audience Q&A, along with Stealth writer-director Marlo Bernier, who makes her directorial debut with the film and is in the process of transitioning. Jennifer Fontaine—who co-stars in the film and co-wrote the film with Bernier ( and is her producing partner ) —will also be in attendance. A lobby reception with light food and drink from Ann Sather will follow the screening. Bernier, who hopes to elicit enough enthusiasm to raise completion funds to finish Stealth, recently spoke with Windy City Times.
Windy City Times: Is this based on a true incident? It certainly felt that way.
Marlo Bernier: Well, that's the hope, isn't it? It's pretend but it looks and feels real.
WCT: Maybe because transgendered people experience such overwhelming prejudice—often of a violent nature.
MB: Sure. Unfortunately, there's nothing new under the sun when it comes to that and probably for a long time to come. We keep getting murdered for no reason … as do other people—from Matthew Shepard to Angie Zapata.
WCT: So is it based on a true story? Where did it come from?
MB: It relates to me personally because I began the steps to transition approximately two years ago. A few months into it I called my two youngest siblings, who happen to be brothers, our parents have died, and I told them and to put it in an encapsulated version, it blew them away—to the point where we haven't spoken in over a year. Anyhow, Elizabeth Martin, the woman who plays Celia, the oldest of the Terranova sisters in the movie, as she heard my story said, "You really need to do something." I didn't want to do a biopic [ laughs ] and my main focus was on packaging another film called Glass Houses which is pretty huge in scope. So I kept pushing it off and she kept asking me about it and I started thinking, "What would drive family together regardless of how the family felt about an issue like transgenderism?" I saw the first frames of the film and that was the catalyst for the rest of the story which I wrote with Jennifer who plays Jeanine, one of the sisters. The transgender issue in the film is really a side issue for me. The primary issue is that somebody in the family is in deep, deep trouble and that trouble happens to be a homicide connected to some really bad guys. You'll see Celia, the older sister who has trouble with the transgender issue go on an emotional journey in the full length version of Stealth.
WCT: It's obviously a real labor-of-love kind of piece.
MB: Right and people have been asking, "What happens?! What happens?!" and I keep saying [ laughs ] , "We need the money and then we can tell you what happens." The primary goal is certainly to do the feature as a stand alone item but by the same token Stealth the short for my money as a director and a co-writer and a producer is also a stand alone item.
WCT: I would heartily agree. When the film ends you really don't know what Alexandra's character is going to say. You think you know in the moment but after giving it some thought …
MB: Thank you. That was our intention, certainly. I'm glad to hear you thought so.
WCT: Why did you decide to do the short first?
MB: While we were in the midst of trying to sell Glass Houses we had some down time and Jennifer Fontaine, who is my writing and producing partner, called me in the middle of the night and said, "We have to shoot something—I'm going crazy sitting around!" [ laughs ] So, I said, "How about shooting some scenes from Stealth?" and we decided to go ahead.
WCT: Working on a film like this while you are transitioning has got to be great therapy.
MB: It is; it certainly is. It's better than paying $90 an hour—make a film and you don't need to go to therapy. [ Laughs ]
WCT: Even though you're working behind the camera, you're still in a profession that at times thrusts you into the limelight. You must have great empathy for someone like Chaz Bono, who is going through his transition publicly.
MB: Absolutely. As Alexandra has told me over and over again—and I'm going to start crying if I think about it too much—is that we are not the only people going through this. There are those around us who are transitioning also. I think its commendable, admirable, etc. that people in my life are making the effort to use the name "Marlo" and not "Mark" and "her" and not "him" and "she" and not "he" and so on. It's still jarring for me to hear it a little bit, you know? The first couple of times I heard it I thought, "That's me?" and then I realize that beyond all this I'm a filmmaker and a filmmaker who just happens to be in the process of transitioning.
WCT: Marlo, will you send the film to your brothers?
MB: No. Can't do it.
WCT: Maybe down the road?
MB: Maybe down the road. My door is always open. It saddens me and I don't want to go into the details.
WCT: You don't need to do that. I'm just going to applaud your courage as a person and as a filmmaker and wish you luck with it.
MB: Thank you. In addition to working on this and other film projects, I've begun my little book called, "At Least I'll Own A Dress" which is a way for me to document this period of my life. I'm just starting it but I decided I needed to write this down. It can be found at www.MarloB59.wordpress.com .
