The Joneses
Description
In the opening of Moby Longinotto’s candid, fly-on-the-wall documentary (a 2014 SFFS Documentary Film Fund recipient), the inimitable 73-year-old Jheri Jones is wearing a flashy, one-piece rainbow swimsuit and flashing quite a bit of attitude on a worn sofa in her Mississippi mobile home. She looks great and she knows it. As Jheri sums it up with her standard Southern frankness, she doesn’t want to go “out” looking like a “hag.” It’s doubtful that will ever happen. But Jheri’s journey to find her true, confident self hasn’t been so easy. Through telling family pictures, everyday interactions and piercing interviews, a portrait emerges of an unflappable transgender mom triumphing over adversity and homophobia. In the process, she has also become the glue in the trailer park home where two of her sons live. Longinotto’s incisive, fascinating portrait invites viewers to pull up a seat at the lively dinner table for an intimate, multi-generational look at the unforgettable Joneses as they come together to deal with unresolved issues, shattered dreams, seething resentments and redefined realities. Overseeing all the tumult is unflappable Jheri, a matriarch with a steely resolve and independent spirit. —Randy Myers
Filmmaker Moby Longinotto made his directing debut in 2000 with the tele-short 24 Hours. He has since gone on to make a variety of projects, including Make Me Proud (2002), Bad Boy (2004) and Smalltown Boy (2007). Of 2014 SFFS Documentary Film Fund-winner The Joneses, Longinotto says, “As soon as I met the Joneses five years ago, I was captivated by Jheri and her family and knew I wanted to get their story on film. Soon thereafter, I realized there was so much material there, and that I needed to create a feature-length documentary to really get their story across on screen.”
Trailer
//player.vimeo.com/video/159237671?autoplay=1Film Details
Language English
Year 2016
Runtime 80
Country USA/UK
Director Moby Longinotto
Producer Aviva Wishnow
Editor Vanessa Roworth
Cinematographer Moby Longinotto
Music Joel Pickard