“This is a woman who disappeared off the face of the earth for 45 years and nobody knew if she was alive or dead,” says Michael Mabbott, co-director of the forthcoming documentaryThe simultaneously sad and triumphant tale of a groundbreaker before her time is the crux of the film. Co-directed by Mabbott along with Lucah Rosenberg-Lee and co-produced by Elliot Page, it brushes away the dust and traces Shane’s stunning rise as a trans singer during an inhospitable period.
Shane, a native of the American South before moving to Toronto to escape the suffocating effects of Jim Crow, subsequently made waves with a song that inspired the film’s name, the breezy horn- and drum-fueled “Any Other Way.” Along with landing onchart, it became a hit in Canada in 1962.
“Our first phone call lasted four hours,” says Mabbott, who recalls how Shane had an endless supply of vivid memories from her too-brief career — and was ready for a second chapter. “We spoke every week for over a year,” helping the two form a close bond. “She eventually said, ‘Let’s work on this documentary.’ ”Unfortunately, as plans were coalescing, Shane died in her sleep in February 2019. “Her death was all the more tragic because she was ready to come back,” Mabbott says.
With that, the filmmakers tackled her journey with added vigor to piece together the puzzle of a remarkable life. Luckily, Shane had scrupulously preserved the artifacts of her career, from acetate recordings to homemade jewelry. Mabbott, who worked with Shane’s long-lost family and a music anthropologist to excavate her legacy, calls the treasure trove she left behind “a documentarian’s dream.
The final product, which premiered at South by Southwest in March, tells a story the filmmakers hope will spur audiences to both reflect and feel inspired. As Rosenberg-Lee explains, “To have people watch the movie, feel connected to it and see that, ‘Wow, people like this have been around for a long time doing their thing…’ It’s very gratifying for sure.
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