KDocsFF opens with documentary Julia Scotti: Funny That Way, plus live stand-up comedy, February 21

Film directed by Susan Sandler follows titular transgender comedian’s triumphant comeback

SPONSORED POST BY KDocsFF

Julia Scotti: Funny That Way

The 10th annual KDocsFF, Metro Vancouver’s premier social justice film festival, takes place this year from February 21 to 25 at the VIFF Centre. Kicking off the fest’s theme of “Journeys in Solidarity” on Opening Night at 6:30 pm is Julia Scotti: Funny That Way, which features a documentary screening followed by a special 30-minute stand-up comedy performance by Julia Scotti herself.

With breathtaking emotional honesty, this tender, funny, and powerful portrait of transgender comedian Scotti explores the unrelenting courage and humour it takes to be her.

In the comedy boom of the 1980s, Rick Scotti was a busy guy. He was appearing in clubs across the country on bills with the likes of Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld when he came to the dawning realization that nothing felt right. At a time when the terms “gender dysphoria” and “gender reassignment surgery” were rarely heard, Rick’s true awakening at age 47 led to a new identity as Julia.

And then everyone turned away—former wives, friends, family, comedy world buddies—and most painfully, Scotti was shut out from any contact with her children. She reinvented herself, spent a decade teaching, and stepped on stage again to begin her journey back to the world she loves. Most importantly, her children reached out to her after 15 years of silence.

Shot over a period of five years, Julia Scotti: Funny That Way tracks Scotti’s triumphant comeback and the complex process of reuniting with her children, as comedy becomes the shared language of identity, healing, and joy.

Tickets to the event also provide access to the Opening Night Reception, which includes appetizers and a drink, as well as the keynote address from the film’s director Susan Sandler.

Three other films will screen on February 21. The day opens at 12 pm with Is There Anybody Out There?—which follows filmmaker Ella Glendining as she searches for another person who has the same rare disability she was born with—shown alongside Afton Quast Saler’s Neurodivergent. Jeanie Finlay’s Your Fat Friend, starring writer Aubrey Gordon, screens at 3:30 pm.

Tickets and more details are at KDocsFF.

Post sponsored by KDocsFF.

Is There Anybody Out There?