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No Ordinary Man
2020, 83 minutes
Media type
Country of origin

Canada

Rating

Canada:PG

Filming locations

United States of America

California, United States of America

New York, United States of America

Washington, United States of America

Los Angeles, California, United States of America

New York City, New York, United States of America

Spokane, Washington, United States of America

Spokane, Washington, United States of America

Production company

Parabola Films

Technical specs

Colour

Languages

English/English

Content Warnings
Unreviewed
Images
Bright documentary poster featuring the overhead silhouette of a black piano in front of an orange background. Inside the body of the piano is the title of the film, "No Ordinary Man", and an archival photo of the film's subject, trans male pianist Billy Tipton.
The keys of a piano are evoked by the black boxes lining the top of this white documentary poster. Each box contains a blue-tinted photo of one of the interviewees, whose names are listed vertically in the large white expanse below, along with the film's title and other information.
Description

No Ordinary Man is an in-depth look at the life of musician and trans culture icon Billy Tipton. Complicated, beautiful and historically unrivaled, this groundbreaking film shows what is possible when a community collaborates to honor the legacy of an unlikely hero. For decades, the life of American Jazz musician Billy Tipton was framed as the story of an ambitious woman passing as a man in pursuit of a music career. In No Ordinary Man, Tipton’s story is re-imagined and performed by trans artists as they collectively paint a portrait of an unlikely hero. Together, the filmmakers join Tipton’s son Billy Jr. to reckon with a complicated and contested legacy: how do you tell the story of someone who was hiding in plain sight yet desperate to be seen?

Parabola Films. “No Ordinary Man.” Accessed May 20, 2025. https://www.parabolafilms.ca/no-ordinary-man/.
Cast & Crew
Crew