Happy Birthday, Marsha!

Happy Birthday, Marsha!
Film poster
Directed byTourmaline
Sasha Wortzel
Written byTourmaline
Sasha Wortzel
Produced byTourmaline
Sasha Wortzel
StarringMya Taylor
Cherno Biko
Eve Lindley
Cyrus Grace Dunham
Release date
  • March 11, 2018 (2018-03-11) (Los Angeles)[1]
Running time
14 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Happy Birthday, Marsha! is a 2017 fictional short film that imagines the gay and transgender rights pioneers Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera in the hours that led up to the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City.[2] The film stars Mya Taylor as Johnson and Eve Lindley as Rivera.[3]

It was written, directed, and produced by Tourmaline and Sasha Wortzel.[4][5][6] The filmmakers raised over $25,000 on Kickstarter to fund the film.[7][8] The film is a sponsored project of Women Make Movies.[9]

The film premiered in Los Angeles at Outfest Fusion in March 2018.[1][10] The film also showed at the 2018 BFI London Flare LGBTQ+ Film Festival.[11]

The film received some press after Tourmaline accused David France of using some of her labor and footage in his 2017 documentary, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson. France denied the allegations.[12][13][14][15] Subsequent investigative articles in The Advocate and Jezebel found Tourmaline's accusations baseless.[10][16]

  1. ^ a b "Happy Birthday, Marsha". Retrieved 22 May 2020 – via Facebook.
  2. ^ "Power to the People: Exploring Marsha P. Johnson's Queer Liberation". 24 August 2017.
  3. ^ "'Tangerine' Star Mya Taylor Cast as Marsha P. Johnson In 'Happy Birthday, Marsha!'". /Bent. June 3, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-11-03. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  4. ^ Hodson, Hannah (October 24, 2015). "Talking with Reina Gossett and Grace Dunham About Everyday Activism and Why Empathy is Everything". Autostraddle.
  5. ^ Lindsay, Kitty (June 12, 2015). "The Trans Icons You Should Know About". Ms.
  6. ^ Walker, John (June 4, 2015). "Connecting Stonewall to Baltimore: A conversation with some filmmakers exploring trans history". Fusion. Archived from the original on October 31, 2015. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  7. ^ King, Jamilah (August 15, 2014). "Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson: Trans Pioneers, BFFs, Film Stars". Colorlines.
  8. ^ "Kickstarting Trans Visibility on Screen: Sasha Wortzel on Funding Happy Birthday, Marsha!". Filmmaker Magazine. August 8, 2014.
  9. ^ Eng, Matthew (August 6, 2015). "Stonewall Trailer Gets Surprising Reaction from LGBTQ Community". Tribeca. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Ennis, Dawn (Jan 23, 2018). "Inside the Fight for Marsha P. Johnson's Legacy". advocate.com. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  11. ^ "European Premiere of Happy Birthday, Marsha!". SASHA WORTZEL. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  12. ^ Evan Urquhart (October 13, 2017). "What Would Trans Art Look Like if It Was Only Made by Trans People?". Slate. The United States. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  13. ^ "Trans filmmaker Reina Gossett accuses 'The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson' creator of stealing work". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. October 9, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  14. ^ "Trigger: Gender as a Tool and a Weapon". newmuseum.org. The New Museum. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
  15. ^ "Why Transgender People Should Be the Ones Telling Transgender Stories". Teen Vogue. 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  16. ^ Juzwiak, Rich (2017-10-13). "Who Owns Marsha P. Johnson's Story?". Jezebel. Archived from the original on 2019-08-24. Retrieved 2023-04-05.