Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story premiered on Saturday, March 9 at SXSW. The documentary feature film chronicles the extraordinary story of Black trans soul singer Jackie Shane, and her rise to and fall from stardom. Director Michael Mabbott came across Jackie’s beautiful music and, after looking into who she was and finding out that she mysteriously disappeared, was compelled to use his filmmaking skills to allow himself and others to understand what happened. Mabbott reached out to fellow Toronto-based filmmaker Lucah Rosenberg-Lee and – in their first collaboration together – found themselves a dynamic director duo.

Off Radar spoke with Mabbott and Rosenberg-Lee about Jackie Shane, the SXSW premiere, and the film's impact.

Off Radar: Can you tell me a little about what it was like co-directing with one another for the first time?

Lucah: I hadn't heard of Jackie Shane when Michael approached me to work on this with him, which was interesting because I'm a black trans filmmaker. Michael had seen one of my films, Passing, which is also about black transness. That's how we connected.

Michael: I wanted a co-director for this, and Lucah's work seemed to encapsulate the way Jackie approached her art and the way Jackie wanted this film made. I'm so grateful that we saw eye-to-eye on creative matters and pushed each other creatively. Making this documentary was a long, stressful, spiritual journey that we were on. To have a partner and a friend like Luca was great. We'd laugh together, cry together, and we ranted a lot. I wouldn't have made it through without losing my marbles without a partner like Lucah. 

Lucah: It can be challenging to co-direct and co-write, but we set the standards from the beginning and used that as a guide. We also used Jackie as a guide. Then, we let the creative process flow from there.

Off Radar: That kind of partnership is very special. I also wanted to revisit something Michael briefly mentioned in his response about Lucah's approach to his work being akin to Jackie's approach to her music. Can you elaborate on that?

Michael: I spoke with Jackie for over 100 hours over a year. We'd speak once a week, and the conversations lasted from five to 11 hours. How she approached her music and the music she admired was an incredible North Star for us to follow in terms of what a film about Jackie would look like. She was an incredibly elegant, sophisticated woman in many ways. She had a big thing about flash plots and using gimmicks to get attention. She also talked a lot about the intimacy and connection she needed with an audience. We brought all of those things into this film to tell her story.

Off Radar: How did you get in touch with her in the first place?

Michael: I heard a Jackie Shane live album 12 years ago and was incredibly blown away and connected to it. There were rumors that she died, was murdered, was missing, or was a recluse, but nobody knew. I did a little bit of research into where she was about once a year. It wasn't until 2016, when it was announced that one of her albums was being reissued, that I knew she was alive. I talked to somebody who was in our film, Rob Bowman, and he had been talking to her about the liner notes for the album. He was one of the only people she let in, and she told him she wanted this documentary made and to talk to some filmmakers. It took about a year, but I finally got a call that she wanted to speak to me. She hung up on the first phone call, but then I called her back, and we spoke for a while.

Off Radar: Tell me about last night's premiere.

Lucah: We're both very happy with the response. It was nice to get laughs in some places we weren't expecting. It was nice to hear people respond to the tone; multiple people came up to me and said that it didn't feel like a documentary but a narrative film. When we were doing our Q&A, the moderator was in tears at the end; it even took them a minute to get started with our Q&A. It's not an entirely sad film, so it shows that the emotional tones were received and people connected with the material.

Michael: People have explained to me that their tears are not about some of the tragic elements of her life but come from feelings of overwhelm and inspiration. Like this happened? What can we do with this, and how can we move on? Jackie was all about these intimate connections and through her music. Sitting in a theater, hearing her music loud and full, was really quite moving for a lot of people, and we could feel it.  

Off Radar: What about your approach to the filmmaking process allowed the story to come to life?

Lucah: We don't just focus on her transness as the main plot. We allow what she has said to Michael on the phone, what she wrote in her autobiography, and so many other pieces we found in her archive and elements of her life to speak.

Michael: We tried really hard to clarify that it's Jackie telling her own story. In spots where it's not Jackie telling her own story, then it's people who are directly related to her, emotionally and otherwise. 

Off Radar: Before we wrap up, what element about the film may surprise a viewer?

Lucah: The music is something to look forward to. It's a story about an incredible hero, but she was also a great musician, and we're using tracks from her live album. 

Michael: I hope more people know her music through this film and that Jackie and her music can live on.