THE FILM: Girl Island. The Sandy Stone Story.

SYNOPSIS

“The verdant hills of Casablanca look down on homes and shops jammed chockablock against narrow, twisted streets filled with the odors of spices and dung…”

... So begins the film GIRL ISLAND, with voice-over from the opening of Sandy Stone’s trailblazing call-to-action essay The Empire Strikes Back: A Posttranssexual Manifesto. She’s describing the route to a doctor’s office in Morocco in 1972, which was one of the only places in the world to get a “sex change.” The first scene begins the same year, but in a San Francisco hospital, where Sandy languished for months with 27 broken bones after a car accident. Sporting a bushy beard while taking feminizing hormones, she shocked the staff, who wouldn't give her pain medication until famous musicians David Crosby and Graham Nash arrived, yelling, "Do you know who this is? This is one of our best sound engineers! This….is SANDY STONE!” Not your usual talking heads documentary, GIRL ISLAND uses exciting storytelling from the inside out by mixing dreamy, fantastical animation with archives, recent vérité, and live interviews.

INTERVIEWEES

Sandy Stone	Kate Bornstein	Donna Haraway	Stephen Barncard
Dr. Donald Laub	Susan Stryker	Ginny Berson	Arpana Warren
Khaleghl Quinn	Avital Ronell	Maggie Beaumont	David Bychkov
Linda "Tui" Tillery	Judy Dlugacz	June Millington	Darcy Thole
Tani Thole	Naio Cervantes-Thole	Heather Kelley	Leslie Rogers
Bodie Swenson-Thole	Bob Stern	Daphne Stern	Honoria Starbuck
Joey Lopez	Knut Graf	Jon Lebkowsky	Richard MacKinnon
Brandon Wiley	Vernon Reed

To present a clear picture of her accomplishments, spirit, and teachings, the film will show Sandy's life through two lenses: factual and fantastical. Sandy knew by age 3 that she was a girl, but being born male in 1936 meant she was unable to live as one. As a coping mechanism, she created an imaginary haven in her mind, surrounded by like-minded girls who did everything they were not allowed to do in real life: be free and have adventures. Sandy lovingly called this place “Girl Island”. While on the island, the film switches to animation by award-winning graphic novel artist Bishkah Som. We’ll travel through a fantastical reimagining of Sandy’s childhood paradise, where the island serves not only as a major narrative thread but as the container through which we learn about Sandy’s real life. As we watch Sandy grow up - both on Girl Island and through the documentary footage - it becomes clear that she boldly created, shared, and empowered many Girl Island-type communities throughout her life. This film will bring them all together!

Animation 

Director's Statement 

I've known Sandy for over 20 years. First as her student, then friend, and now as the star of my first film. While at Sandy's 80th birthday party, I looked at all the guests from different parts of her life and asked if anyone had approached her to make a documentary about her life. She said, "Sure, all the time, but nothing ever happens!" Ready for the challenge, I gathered a team, secured her life rights, and we are now in mid-production. With my long history as an artist, photographer, curator, book editor, teacher and gallery director, I couldn’t just make a film. We are also re-releasing her Manifesto as a graphic novel and audiobook with new writing by Sandy and other luminaries! From her earliest memories, Sandy was literally and figuratively "hacking" everything, taking ideas and objects apart to understand them, reinvent their purpose, and, ultimately, create a world in which she felt connected. Every day the news is filled with subjects that Sandy was—and continues to be— instrumental in advancing, especially around technology and identity. Luckily at 86 yrs old and as active as ever, Sandy is fully contributing to the entire project! It is long overdue and also perfect timing!

So now, something is really happening, and it's incredible to work with Sandy on this project! I learned from Sandy's motto: "Make Stuff—Take Risks—Don't Die Wondering—Be Awesome!"

Thank you, Marji Vecchio