Arts & Entertainment
Laverne Cox And Deutsche Bank Host A Screening Of 'Free CeCe!'
Daniela Kirsch shares her exclusive red carpet coverage during a screening of 'Free CeCe!' in New York City!
Deutsche Bank hosted a screening of the documentary "Free CeCe!" on June 22nd. The film features CeCe McDonald, a black transgender woman, who was attacked while out with her friends and fought back which lead to the death of a man.
After an international outcry from activists in the LGBTQ+ community, including actress Laverne Cox, producer Jac Gare started filming CeCe's story in 2011. Laverne Cox has since lent her voice to the film and even appears in the documentary interviewing CeCe.
4:00 p.m.
I'm at the Deutsche Bank building downtown watching a screening of the documentary "Free CeCe!".
6:16 p.m.
After the film, I meet Laverne Cox in the back room for photos. She is about to go on stage for a panel discussion.
6:36 p.m.
Laverne makes her entrance.
6:41 p.m.
Tiq Milan, the national spokesperson for GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), moderates the panel. Jacqueline Gares, the producer of 'Free CeCe' joins the discussion.
Tiq asks Laverne how she got involved in CeCe's story.
"When I followed the story, I was like this could be me! The street harassment in New York City is so intense for most women and for trans women it's just really dangerous to leave the house." she says,"So many times I have been walking down the street and I've been harassed and it could have turned deadly really easily."
She explains how much she was able to identify with CeCe. She says that most transgender women do not come unharmed out of an attack like this. CeCe is a survivor.
6:48 p.m.
"How do you cope with all of it?" asks Taq.
"I can not pour from an empty cup. We must fill up our cup and it overflows right now." says Laverne, "How can you repour and drink it at the same time? If you are just depleted all the time. Right now I ask myself what it means for me to fill my cup up and sometimes it's just watching HGTV." Laverne says and goes on, "And it is the mindless things, the mindless television, and movies but it's also trying to stay engaged and be very intentional when I do speak up so it doesn't deplete me and I use the platform that I have been given to, to try to help in some way."
6:50 p.m.
CeCe arrives. She got caught up in a traffic jam.
6:52 p.m.
"Are we hopeful, are we progressing?" asks Taq.
"There is a television show on FX called 'Pose' staring five transgender women." says Laverne,"And we are the center of the narrative, there are trans folks directing and producing episodes.
I was in LA and there was Dominique Jackson, dark skin, black trans woman on billboards everywhere and it was just normal! And I was like Yes! And I cried, I really did! It's just not something that has been happening a lot. This gives me so much hope!"
7:14 p.m.
"When I was sixteen I didn't think I will make it to seventeen and now I'm thirty," says CeCe.
7:16 p.m.
"I am the girl that trolls the trolls," says CeCe.
7:38 p.m.
"You don't want me to hate you, but you are giving me every reason to hate you," says CeCe.
7:50 p.m.
I snap a photo of the panelists:
Jacqueline Gares, CeCe McDonald, Tiq Milan and Laverne Cox.
7:52 p.m.
CeCe McDonald.
Daniela Kirsch is co-founder of NameFace — a facial recognition application that can identify celebrities in photographs. Through her technical and creative expertise, Kirsch has changed the entertainment industry, and she knows more than just a thing or two about photographing A-list events.
See more exclusive red carpet coverage from Daniela Kirsch:
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