After a successful festival run, Perera Pictures and Fisky Enterprises are releasing the documentary Paul & Trisha: The Art of Fluidity through VOD, featuring Paul Whitehead and Trisha Van Cleef. The film is written, directed, and produced by Fia Perera, with Adam Fisk serving as an executive producer and William Gilmore handling the cinematography and editing. This heartwarming and inspirational documentary explores the lives of two renowned British artists in one gender-fluid body: Paul Whitehead and Trisha Van Cleef.
Paul & Trisha: The Art of Fluidity focuses on Paul Whitehead, a painter, graphic designer, writer, and musician who worked as an art director for Time Out and John Lennon. He founded the Eyes and Ears Foundation and its Artboard Festival, which allowed artists to showcase their work on billboards and made album covers for music icons like Genesis, Credence Clearwater Revival, Van der Graaf Generator, and Peter Hammill.
The following statement from the filmmaker was received with the correspondence about the film. “As a filmmaker and activist, my passion is spotlighting and elevating individuals like Paul and Trisha, who navigate their gender fluidity and duality with great freedom,” said Perera. “My mission with this film is to help inspire other people struggling to be their true selves to leap!”
Whitehead began exploring his gender identity through cross-dressing during the 1960s, leading to the emergence of the converged artist Trisha Van Cleef in 2004. The film covers the challenges and victories the two artists have faced, together and individually.
I was pleased to hear the artists relate their binary existence and Trisha Van Cleef’s debut with the belief that “God gave us free will” and moved forward after reading/learning about the artist Marcel Duchamp. Whitehead’s wife accepted Van Cleef’s emergence, but their marriage did not seem to survive. So much about what Paul shared was very intriguing, especially the connection to Santana and spirituality. I won’t relate it all in this review, but one artist is now two and has different work styles. It is enjoyable to watch him work based on his mood, too.
The director’s story is easy to follow, and I found myself feeling as if I had been listening to a friend talk about their life. There is plenty of artwork to enjoy and archival materials to view. There is a reenactment of an incident that Trisha experienced. Although dramatic, the reenactment also contains a level of unexpected humor.
Cast- Raul Celaya (Xavier), Phil Day (Self), Sheena Gao (Self), Johnny Nelson (Bennito), Paul Nygro (Young Trisha), Gabriel Ricardez (Tito), Ilya Rusak (Carlo), Mary Thompson (Dog Woman), Traci Westbrook (Self), Paul Whitehead (Self)
Paul & Trisha: The Art of Fluidity is Perera’s directorial debut and is streaming in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand as of July 9, 2024.
Runtime: 75 minutes
Source: Gravitas Ventures, Perera Pictures & Fisky Enterprises