Synopsis
In the 50s and 60s, deep in the American countryside at the foot of the Catskills, a small wooden house with a barn behind it was home to the first clandestine network of cross-dressers. Diane and Kate are now 80 years old. At the time, they were men and part of this secret organization. Today, they relate this forgotten but essential chapter of the early days of trans-identity. It is a story full of noise and fury, rich in extraordinary characters, including the famous Susanna, who had the courage to create this refuge that came to be known as Casa Susanna.
Filmmaker
Sébastien Lifshitz
After studying Art History at the École du Louvre, he directed his first feature film, Coming Undone. It was followed by another documentary, The Crossing, selected for the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. With his subsequent works, he was awarded in Berlin and selected again in Cannes, and his film Adolescents was part of the Official Selection at Locarno and won the Louis-Delluc prize and three César Awards.
Filmography: Casa Susanna (2022, D'A 2023), Bambi, a French Woman (2021), Sensitive Boys (short film, 2021), Little Girl (2020), Avenue de Lamballe (short film, 2019), Adolescents (2019), Les vies de Thérèse (2016), Bambi (mid-length film, 2013), The Invisibles (2012), Going South (2009), Jour et nuit (2008), Les temoins (2006), Wild Side (2004), The Crossing (2000), Coming Undone (2000), Open Bodies (mid-length film, 1997), Claire Denis la vagabonde (1995), Il faut que je l'aime (short film, 1994)
