James Kicklighter talks about THE SOUND OF IDENTITY

Of course. That's always the hardest part of telling people about a film. You don't want to give too much away, so they still watch it. The Sound of Identity is a film about the first transgender opera singer to have a leading role on an American main stage. What's really interesting about it is that it happens in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is one of the least likely places most people would expect that story to occur.

It's interesting. I was actually approached by the producers. About two or three years ago I was brought to Tulsa by an organization called Tulsa Tomorrow, which flew in fifty young professionals from all over the country, working in very different industries, to see the future of Tulsa, Oklahoma. While I was there I met Russ Kirkpatrick and Andy Kinslow, who produced the film, for literally fifteen minutes. Two years later they gave me a phone call and said, "We have gotten the rights to do this film about Lucia Lucas." They told me her background. They said, "You're one of a few directors we've met over the past couple of years that we thought of to direct this. Would you be interested?" I had been to Tulsa, and I was fascinated by the idea of voice and gender, so it seemed like something really appealing to tackle.

The project came first. Once I said I was interested, they said, "Let's put you in touch with Lucia." I did a couple of Skype calls with her, and of course that sealed the deal. After a few calls I said, okay, I think I know how to do this now. Anytime you're approached to direct something you're not originating, meeting the actors or the subjects usually tells you a lot about the film you're about to make. When I met Lucia on Skype, sort of like we're talking now, I said, this is going to be a good time, and there's a lot I can do with this. That was a big appeal, for sure.

No. That is obviously the huge risk in making a film like this. You don't know what the outcome is going to be. The best thing you can do as a director is lay out a couple of different scenarios in your filming process. I had a couple of different stories I was following throughout, and literally on a daily basis I had phone calls with our executive producer, Josh Bachove, here in Los Angeles, and with our producers there. We were talking through it: if this happens, this is the direction the story is going to go, and if that happens, this is the direction. But I always had in my mind a very clear outcome for the movie. In fact, without spoiling it, the way the film ends is precisely what I wanted to happen. In hindsight it was a major risk, and when you see the film you'll know why. But it happened. It's very gratifying as a director when those things occur. I know this sounds very mysterious, but it's very rare that you make a film and you get everything you hoped to get. We got that on The Sound of Identity.

That was one of the first decisions I made, actually. When the producers called me about doing the film, they said, "She's the first transgender opera singer to have a leading role on an American main stage. What would you like to do with it?" I think those were literally some of the first words out of my mouth. I said, "Well, I don't care about her transition." Not that I don't care about transitions. They're important. But when we talk about media and transgender people, that is almost always the only story we tell, and I think that is a major disservice to transgender people, who are still, even with better rights, a marginalized community. The fact that we only tell these transition stories in media otherizes people. It puts them in a box, like a Frankenstein kind of thing. I think that as a director and as a creative, it's our responsibility to tell different types of stories. For me the most important thing, especially once I got to know Lucia, was to create a narrative about a full-bodied person, a real, tangible human, not this put-together thing that we sometimes like to see in those films. It's just time to move past it.

That was something we definitely both found interesting. The reason I was so intrigued by voice, and this was the appeal of coming onto the project, was that construct of gender: the dichotomy between the voice that comes out of us and how people associate it. The best way I can describe it, for people who can't quite wrap their heads around it, is going to a fast-food drive-thru. You order something. I want my burger, I want my fries. And sometimes they'll say "yes, sir" or "yes, ma'am," and they'll get it wrong, based on the pitch of your voice. That, to me, was a really interesting question to think about. Is voice associated with gender, or does society associate gender with voice? That lent itself to her story, because when she transitioned she kept her baritone voice. It was fascinating to watch how people interpreted that as we were filming. Some people were very comfortable, and some people were certainly not.

That, to me, was also one of the most interesting questions of the film. I think we are going through a very interesting time in our society, where we're reckoning with identity and the roles of identity. It's not just in the transgender community. It's male, female, gay, straight. Everybody's going through this. I felt it was appropriate to ask the question: how do we use our identity to present ourselves in public? I think that's a very universal question right now, this idea that whatever society associates us with is how we choose to be packaged. As a gay director, should I only direct gay films? As a trans actor, should you only have trans roles? And if you use that identity, how you use it is obviously a measure of authenticity. [inaudible] I think they got it right, but I think it was an interesting question for the audience to consider as they watch the film.

Right now we are in the middle of COVID, as you know, so it's been a really interesting year. It's been so frustrating, because I've been excited to share this film with people, but all of America's and the world's film festivals got cancelled on us. We've been sitting on the shelf. So we're going to be at OUTshine this weekend. We're going to be at the Macon Film Festival this weekend, where I screened my very first film as a student filmmaker in college, so it's really special to be back with a screening there. Then we're waiting on a couple more festivals. Some are still unannounced, so keep your fingers crossed. And then we'll be out with widespread distribution. I can't announce that yet, but stay tuned.

Yes. Globally, not just in the U.S.

One of the things that's really great about OUTshine being virtual is that, with most film festivals, you have to live in Miami or Fort Lauderdale to go to OUTshine, or you have to travel, which costs money. What I love about this is that if you are anywhere in the state of Florida, in Orlando, Jacksonville, wherever, you can watch it. I think that's a great opportunity to bring it to viewers who may not normally get to go to a film festival.

Oh, absolutely, if the opportunity presented itself. I've been really lucky in my career to make films and ads and documentaries with people I get to work with over and over again. If the right opportunity presented itself, obviously Lucia is a phenomenal talent. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

I'm actually in the middle of editing a film I've been directing for four years, another documentary, called The American Question. It's a film about how American value systems are constructed, and what happens when America doesn't have a shared value system. We filmed in swing states, in Pennsylvania and Michigan, and with experts all over the country, over the course of four years. So it's a really huge film as far as scope. Keep your fingers crossed for me that we're able to wrestle it down into something digestible.

I hope so too. And I'll tell you one last thing. It's the most personal film I've ever made, and that was something I didn't expect walking into it. As a director, every project you make means something to you, and this one is certainly a very personal film for me. It feels like a film that encompasses a lot of things I've thought about in my own career and in my own personal life. So it's really great to share it with audiences, and especially to highlight such a phenomenal talent.

Thanks so much.