Rock Pockets
Trevor Anderson with Steven Hope | 5:30 min, Super 8mm and DV | Edmonton
Told as an experiment in socio-norms but revealed finally on all its levels in sad, world weary psycho-analysis, Rock Pockets deserves to be taught in queer theory classes long after this Prairie Tales tour concludes. Anderson reminisces about the jealous outrage he felt when confronted with the spectacle of heterosexual displays of affection at the fairs he attended as a child. The violation documented here: long-haired rock couples – in tight jeans - walking along the fair grounds with each other’s hands in their back pockets. A culturally acceptable ass-grab that, according to Anderson, gay men have never been able to enjoy. What follows is a truly charming documentary of Anderson’s own walk through the fair grounds and the enthusiastic reactions that result. The irony of this piece isn’t laid out until his analysis of this act of awkward rebellion at the very end - thoughts that reveal an honest, almost naïve arc for the film (the filmmakers’ choice to use one of Anderson’s straight friends as the other half of this homosexual romance is an especially nice touch), and for which it is nearly impossible to not feel tremendous affection.
Trevor Anderson is an award-winning filmmaker, musician, theatre artist, and festival producer who lives and works mostly in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Trevor recently won the Lindalee Tracey Award at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival in Toronto. Trevor is Assistant Producer of the Edmonton International Street Performers Festival, and the International Festival of Animated Objects, in Calgary. His first film "Rugburn" has screened at dozens of international film festivals and has been broadcast in the USA on the Logo Network, owned by MTV. His second film "Rock Pockets", recently completed in collaboration with Steven Hope, is beginning to tour the international festival circuit. His next film "DINX" is being produced under the auspices of the Drama Prize Program at the National Screen Institute - Canada. Other projects in the works include "Dead Judy: The Man That Got Away" - an alternative documentary currently in development. Trevor is also collaborating with illustrator Karen A. Justl on a children's picture book, entitled, "Drat! I'm Fat!"
Dr. Hope is an intense thinker born in the bizarre, dimensional rift known as Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He makes films, graphic-design, illustration, motion-graphics, photos and 8-bit music under various tangents including Zebra Society, Combustible Media and 378. He also enjoys rooftops, surfing where available, obsolete tech and brown rice. Rock Pockets marks Trevor’s and Steven’s first collaboration.