Crew | Larry (they/them)

Catherine

Catherine has a singular knack of falling pregnant just as her films go into post-production. She likes to tell of how Baby No. 2 oversaw the final shots of Mom’s work from the womb, then accompanied her through the editing, mixing and colouring stages! For her, family and creation are intricately intertwined, informing and feeding each other, overlapping in an emotionally rich day-to-day series of interactions. Passionate about art and culture, she can often be found absorbed in a book or film, when not letting her fingers wander over the piano keyboard or up and down the neck of her cello.

Catherine is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and editor with a film production degree from Montreal’s Concordia University. The films she’s edited in the last 20 years have screened on the international festival circuit, as well as in cinemas and on television. In parallel with her editing work, she founded the production company Concerto Films and has gone on to direct and produce two documentary features. Her first film, Sisters: Dream & Variations (2019), was a winner at the IndieFEST Film Awards in five categories, including editing and directing, and at the Gala Québec Cinéma for Best Documentary Original Score. It was while filming Sisters that Catherine first met Laurence, a colourful personality who went on to inspire her second film, LARRY (they/them). While both productions differ in terms of their subject matter and aesthetics, there’s a continuity to her chosen themes: namely, non-conforming identities and art as a means of self-expression.

Catherine believes everybody should be able to give full expression to their uniqueness. The question of non-conforming gender identities is a vital issue that resonates with her deeply and that she fights to normalize and defend, both in her work as a filmmaker and in her personal life. For her, valuing diversity isn’t just some politically correct stance: rather, it shapes how she lives and relates to others. Her films stand as open and caring spaces, invitations to look further and see things differently.

Isabelle

Isabelle is a born communicator with a love of lightness and depth, silence and laughter . . . and a terrible weakness for puns! These contrasts are what make her the multifaceted, sensitive person she is. Over the years, her thirst for exploration has led her to practise dance, theatre and photography, as well as fuelling her passion for music. A nature lover to the core, these days she draws inspiration from her home in the countryside.

After university studies in screenwriting, communication and advertising, Isabelle has honed her skills as a producer for close to 20 years. Animated film is her passion, the common thread running through her projects. Isabelle first met Catherine when they both played cello in the same ensemble. Some time later, in 2016, she joined Concerto Films to produce Sisters: Dream & Variations. Kindred spirits, the two impulsively teamed up again as the film LARRY (they/them) began to take shape. The project was quick to fire Isabelle’s enthusiasm with its blend of humanity, adventure and creative and professional stimulation.

Isabelle is drawn to themes that explore uniquely personal points of view. Inspired by individual resilience and determination, she particularly loves films that portray complex, transformative and sustaining life experiences. Films that encourage audiences to dive deep within themselves and, in coming to know and accept themselves, take charge of their own destinies. Films that help to build a better, more inclusive world.

Rémy

Rémy puts sharing at the heart of everything he does. His happy place is a crowded table with excellent food and space to laugh hard or choke up over the stories that helped shape each person present. His emphasis on inclusivity is fuelled in part by the identities he bears. Proud to have grown up queer and trans in the Prairies as a Franco-Manitoban, Rémy is committed to building bridges of understanding and connection.

A filmmaker, editor and producer based out of Toronto, Rémy is a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre. He also studied in the documentary cinema director program at Montreal’s Institut national de l’image et du son (INIS), which is where he first met Catherine. Both in the personal and professional spheres, Rémy is known for nurturing the kind of trust that fosters healthy relationships, a rapport based on openness and respect that enriches the projects on which he collaborates, right down to the screenplay. For him, this approach, which can also be described as relationship-based filmmaking, is key to rich and meaningful storytelling.

Rémy is deeply grateful to the gender rebels and Two-Spirit people who come before him, those whose legacy has helped him move between different worlds today. He feels strongly that gender-affirming care, something so vital to his own health and well-being, should be available to all who need it. He is as engaged with the wider community as he is with his own, in his efforts to bring about a better appreciation of transgender realities and highlight stories of intersectionality.

Producer

Isabelle Phaneuf-Cyr

Associate Producer

Rémy Huberdeau

Executive producer

Catherine Legault

Cinematography

Claire Sanford, Samuel Trudelle, Catherine Legault

Sound

Catherine Legault, Pablo Villegas, Lynne Trepanier, Bruno Pucella, Louis-Philippe Amiot, Tobias Haynes, Jean-François Paradis, Claude Sophie Périard

Editing

Catherine Legault

Animation

Kara Blake, Nina Drew

Colourist

Tony Manolikakis

Sound Design

Mélanie Gauthier

Sound Mix

Bruno Bélanger

Original Music

Eric Shaw, Scout The Wise

Post-Production

REV13 Films, PRIM and Pixel Audio

Written and Directed by

Catherine Legault

The production team felt strongly that trans and non-binary people should be active participants in the creation of LARRY (they/them) and that the film should bring together artists and technicians concerned by the subjects addressed. At all stages of production, a special effort was made to bring their talents and sensibilities to the fore.

Animation

One of the challenges to making LARRY (they/them) was the desire to bypass the conventional archive-based approach to evoking the past. This was largely driven by the desire to avoid any kind of overly stark before-and-after contrast that could risk causing discomfort to the film’s subjects or generating inappropriate curiosity among the audience. Animation and compositing techniques thus appeared the best means for addressing certain key moments in the lives of Laurence and Nina.

When Catherine invited illustrator and cartoonist Nina Drew to contribute their talents to the film, she was building on the approach she’d used in Sisters: Dream & Variations: namely, encourage the film’s subjects, as collaborators, to participate creatively, adding their own viewpoints to the narrative. It was natural to want to involve Nina, who is Laurence’s partner. As someone from the same generation, Nina has no trouble relating to, and reimagining with empathy and respect, the period when Laurence was questioning their gender identity. The collaboration also let Nina take ownership of their own story and add their personal touch to the project. The sequences featuring Nina’s illustrations are in blue monochrome, with flashes of neon pink or fluorescent orange as visual nods to Laurence’s work.

The team worked with Kara Blake to bring Nina’s art to life onscreen. Kara’s motion graphics, in turn, ensure a visual treatment that is dynamic and contemporary. These multiple techniques and styles bring Laurence’s story to the screen in all its complexity and humanity.

Music

For the production team, the score of LARRY (they/them) was another prime opportunity to showcase the talents of a trans or non-binary artist. As post-production got underway, Catherine happened upon the song I’m Not A Girl, I’m Not A Boy by Scout the Wise. She loved Scout’s voice and their singular folk-electro-pop style with its R&B overtones. Not only that, but the lyrics were also a seamless fit for the film’s theme. She instinctively felt that Scout’s talents and ideas would be a boon to the film, so she invited them to co-create the original score with Eric Shaw.

Eric and Catherine set up a mobile studio, then flew out to California to start recording in Chico, Scout’s hometown. Given Scout’s superlative talents as an improviser, they took the occasion to compose most of the themes for the various scenes. Together, Scout and Eric laid down some overdubs and successively recorded the different tracks for a given piece. Back in Montreal, Eric took care of the edit, fitting the music to the picture and adding a few more melodic and rhythmic touches. The final mix of the score was done at Pixel Audio.

Since the original version of I’m Not A Girl, I’m Not A Boy was made before Scout had begun their hormone transition, a new version was recorded for the film. Another of Scout’s original songs, Unbreakable Seam, until then unpublished, was also used for the scene where Laurence marks the anniversary of their own hormone therapy. Once again, the lyrics were a perfect match for the themes, underscoring Laurence’s growing sense of empowerment as their identity began to assert itself. Both titles will soon be available on all platforms.