Any Other Way is an important documentary about the amazing, unheralded rhythm and blues singer, and songwriter, Jackie Shane.
It was screened in Austin for the 2024 South By SouthWest (SXSW) festival.
We subsequently had a chance to sit down with producers:
Amanda Burt
Scott McFadyen
Justine Pimlott
and
Sam Dunn
HNMAG: Please introduce yourself.
Sam: Hi I’m Sam Dunn, from Banger Films, executive producer on Any Other Way. I’m from England, via Victoria, via Toronto. I moved to Toronto in 1998.
Justine: Justine Pimlott from the National Film Board (NFB) of Canada. I’m a co-producer on the project. I was born in England, grew up in Winnipeg, lived in Montreal then moved to Toronto.
Amanda: My name is Amanda Burt, I’m Toronto-born and bred, and I live there now. I’m a producer on the film.
Scott: I’m Scott McFadyen, co-founder of Banger Films. I’m exec producer and producer on the film. I’m from Toronto.
HNMAG: Have you had any previous films that made it to SXSW?
Sam: Our first documentary called Metal Headbangers Journey had its US premiere at SXSW in 2006. We had a concert film, Iron Maiden: Flight 666 in 2009. We’ve been here but it’s been fifteen years. It’s great to be back.
HNMAG: Jackie Shane was born and died in Nashville but she considered Toronto to be her home.
Amanda: Nashville, when she was born, and until she left, wasn’t that welcoming to her. She had big champions in Toronto and was able to carve out her musical voice and be seen as the superstar that she was to a certain few. She was fighting against prejudice, and a total lack of understanding, and doors were being closed to her in Nashville. The only way for her to blossom and become the person that she was, was to be in a place that was more open and accepting and at that time Toronto was that. I’d like to think that Toronto, Montreal, and Cornwall are still that. As soon as she went over the border, she could finally breathe.
HNMAG: In 1946, another Jackie blossomed in Montreal with the Royals, Jackie Robinson. Did that name speak to Jackie Shane from that baseball hero?
Amanda Burt: That was a coincidence but you can see footage in the film of the Nashville street party and MC’s are wearing the Jackie Robinson Jersey.
HNMAG: Jackie Shane found initial success in Montreal but then found her most success in Toronto. How well does Toronto remember her today?
Amanda Burt: At that time in music, especially on Yonge Street, a lot of what became the Toronto sound was from musicians that came up from the South. There was Levon Helm (The Band), Ronnie Hawkins…etc. The people that we spoke to who saw Jackie perform, told us that Jackie Shane was the one who created that sound. She was the one who authentically performed it. All those other musicians, who created Can-Rock, were able to see her and then go off and form their bands. She was the genesis of the Toronto sound.
HNMAG: Do people in 2024 still admire and respect Jackie Shane?
Sam: She has been forgotten even though there are some plaques and murals. She’s an underground hero but this movie will bring it back.
HNMAG: There was a new compellation album mentioned in the movie.
Scott: That was a box set with liner notes and it did come out.
Sam: On the heels of that resurgence, she decided that she did want to come back to the stage. It wasn’t even a resurgence, it was the first time that major publications were doing interviews. She was going to come back to Toronto and maybe other cities and then she passed away. She never got her second act.
Amanda: She passed away of natural causes in her home in Nashville. You can imagine that someone who was on social assistance for almost forty years didn’t have the best access to proper health care and social support. She was seventy years old and died in her sleep.
Justine: Coming back to her fans, as you see in the film, some of the interview subjects saw her perform in Toronto at the Sapphire Club. There is still a collective memory that is alive and well. When the box set came out, their passion and love for Jackie was reignited. This film will bring a whole new generation of fans.
HNMAG: Any Other Way also has the resurgence of the classic NFB-style animation.
Justine: Banger and the directors’ vision from the outset was to use rotoscope as a creative element. The rotoscope is so gorgeous. It was a creative challenge that turned into an opportunity. There was only one piece of footage that existed of Jackie. How do you bring Jackie to life with only one piece of footage that exists?
Scott: In an early conversation with Michael Mabbott, one of the directors, he said he wanted rotoscope animation to be a key part of the visual look of the film. I said “What is that again? Oh yeah, those NFB films!”
HNMAG: It fits in so nicely with bringing you back to the 70’s, particularly the short about the Maple Leafs and Canadiens.
Justine: The Sweater?
Amanda: In the cold opening in the film in the Sapphire Club, that is rotoscoped over an NFB film called Toronto Jazz. Looking at all the archived NFB footage of Montreal and Toronto at the time helped us tremendously with the authenticity and how we were going to rotoscope on top of that.
HNMAG: How did this project come about?
Amanda: Michael Mabbott had heard of Jackie Shane and for years wanted to find her and make a documentary. When he heard she was alive, that’s when it really got started. It was a long process as phone calls took a year to happen. Prior to that, it was trying to talk to her and get through different gatekeepers. Finally, she allowed us to call her. The first time Michael called, she quickly hung up. Slowly and then quickly he gained her trust and developed a real friendship. Then she really wanted Michael to be the one to tell the story.
HNMAG: Jackie had a high degree of integrity and didn’t want to change her image. She turned down American Bandstand, Ed Sullivan.
Amanda: It’s been a real journey of trust. Beyond Jackie, and then getting Banger onboard, Michael and I went to Nashville to meet her family and gain their trust. It was Michael’s authentic relationship with Jackie that made that possible.
HNMAG: What are you going to be working on next?
Scott: We have other projects. Banger is always doing a few projects at the same time. We have other documentaries as well as a scripted series as a co-production with South Korea that also has a music angle to it.
HNMAG: Is there anything else in the movie that could be considered a big surprise?
Amanda: There is an unreleased song of Jackie’s in the film. There was an old acetate we found in her storage locker that got dubbed at the Country Hall of Fame in Nashville. Nobody ever heard it before. It’s called Hey Mr. Cool Guy.
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story is a surprising and captivating documentary about a lost legend. In the late 60’s, Jackie Shane was a black, transgender singer and songwriter not allowed to express herself due to homophobia and racism. It took a long journey to Canada where she could finally be herself. This is another authentic Canadian story that everyone should experience. Hopefully the movie with bring Jackie to the world as Searching for Sugar Man did for Rodriguez.