Lana Wachowski receives the HRC Visibility Award

Published on Oct 24, 2012 by hrcmedia

HRC President Chad Griffin presents Director and Producer Lana Wachowski with the HRC Visibility Award at the 2012 HRC San Francisco gala. Lana speaks of her journey and why now is the most important time to get involved in the fight for LGBT equality.



-------------

Lana Wachowski, Transgender 'Cloud Atlas' Director, Reveals Painful Adolescence, Suicide Attempt (VIDEO)

The Huffington Post  |  By Cavan Sieczkowski Posted: 10/24/2012 1:50 pm EDT Updated: 10/24/2012 1:53 pm EDT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/24/lana-wachowski-transgender-cloud-atlas-director-reveals-pain-suicide-attempt_n_2009112.html

Lana Wachowski is one of the top directors in Hollywood. She and her brother, Andrew, are behind films like "The Matrix," "V for Vendetta" and "Cloud Atlas." These films have gained her critical acclaim, but Wachowski recently coming out as transgender made the most headlines. Now, she is breaking her silence on her painful adolescence in hopes of helping other LGBT individuals.

Wachowski delivered a heartfelt speech at the gala fundraising dinner for LGBT advocacy group Human Rights Campaign in San Francisco on Oct. 20. There the director received the Visibility Award, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and she revealed that she had struggled as a transgender youth and once even considered committing suicide.

"Every one of us, every person here, every human life, represents a negotiation between public and private identity," she said. She revealed that she has been "out" to her family and friends for over a decade, but knew that there would always be a "price for it" once the public found out.

Thu Oct 25, 2012 at 04:00 PM PDT
HRC Honors Lana Wachowski
by rserven

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/25/1150283/-HRC-Honors-Lana-Wachowski

Lana Wachowski and her brother Andy are of course the directors of The Matrix, V for Vendetta and the forthcoming Cloud Atlas.

She was awarded the Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign on October 20.   Video of her acceptance speech became available yesterday.  I'd like to say "must see acceptance speech" but I know a lot of you don't have 31:09 to spend watching a video.  I know that for me, personally, it was heart-wrenching...and very, very funny.

    If I had remained invisible, the truth would stay hidden...and I couldn't allow that.

The transcript is on the other side.

I watched this entire video yesterday. I've never seen a Wachowski movie, not sure if they're even my cup of tea. I'm truly impressed with Lana's speech, she's an inspirational woman! Also, I love her hair! Z

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES


Lana Wachowski's Emotional Speech Sheds Light On Transgender Suicide Risk

By Justine Ashley Costanza | October 26, 2012 7:43 AM EST


http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/398371/20121026/lana-wachowski-transgender-speech-cloud-atlas-suicide-attempt-transphobia-hate-crimes-statistics-mur.htm#.UIu5T2dc_s0


Lana Wachowski's heartfelt speech at the Human Rights Campaign's annual gala has shed light on a shocking discrimination issue. The normally press shy "Cloud Atlas" co-director, formerly known as Larry Wachowski, was honored with the Visibility Award for her courageous decision to publically come out as transgender in July of 2012.


In a touching 25-minute acceptance speech, Wachowski revealed that she was once beaten for her refusal to comply with gender norms and later established a plan to end her life by jumping in front of a train.

"I began to believe voices in my head -- that I was a freak, that I am broken, that there is something wrong with me, that I will never be lovable, Wachowski said. "Years later I find the courage to admit that I am transgender and this doesn't mean that I am unlovable."

Video: Lana Wachowski Opens Up About Her Journey as a Transgender American

December 24, 2012 by Dan Rafter, Online Campaigns Manager

http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/video-lana-wachowski-opens-up-about-her-journey-as-a-transgender-american/

As 2012 comes to a close, we want to share with you the year's highlights – the victories and most touching moments we encountered. Among those moments was when Lana Wachowski, the critically acclaimed director of the Matrix trilogy, opened up about her journey as a transgender American at HRC's San Francisco video.

Check out the video that, in just a short period of time, garnered nearly 200,000 hits:

Wachowski touched on the painful isolation that is all too familiar to many LGBT youth: "...without examples, without models, I began to believe voices in my head -- that I was a freak, that I am broken, that there is something wrong with me, that I will never be lovable." Those feelings led her to consider suicide while in high school.

Wachowski closed her remarks by stressing that she wants to a beacon of hope for youth struggling with those same feelings of isolation: "I am here because when I was young, I wanted very badly to be a writer, I wanted to be a filmmaker, but I couldn't find anyone like me in the world and it felt like my dreams were foreclosed simply because my gender was less typical than others."