"You can't become what you can't see"
Facing the backlash on Transgender Day of Visibility, two transgender advocates, Josh and Riley, risk their safety to promote transgender visibility and welfare.
Social & External
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The intimate journey and unpublished backstory of BeBe Zahara Benet – a charismatic drag performer originally from Cameroon, and the very first winner of the culture-changing phenomenon, RuPaul’s Drag Race. With over a decade of unprecedented access, we observe BeBe’s struggles with celebrity, authenticity, success, and failure.
One morning, Leonardo Galicia wakes up with a dull pain and an intense fever. After a pandemic experience that made him aware of his mortality, the last thing Leonardo expected was an HIV-reactive result. The illness caused by the virus takes hold of Leonardo's body and forces him to take an indefinite break while recovering in a hospital. There, he meets a mysterious young man, Augusto. By sharing common thoughts, hopes, and dreams, the two will find refuge in each other's arms.
Drag Race star Peppermint takes center stage in this up close and personal documentary about her journey with fame, identity, and the art of drag. Sharing her story alongside a close network of trans individuals, one of the world’s favorite drag performers takes you inside her rise from humble beginnings to her current reign as outspoken trailblazer for the trans community.
In 2008 French filmmaker Julie Gali traveled to the US to film the election of Barack Obama. In spite of this victory for civil rights, it soon became apparent that the rights of another minority were under threat. In California the passing of Proposition 8 marked the only time in U.S. history that a civil right was actually taken away after it had been granted. Upon seeing this, Ms. Gali decided to immerse herself in the growing grassroots struggle of the gay community, which culminated in the October 11, 2009 March for Equality in Washington DC.
Harvey Milk was an outspoken human rights activist and one of the first openly gay U.S. politicians elected to public office; even after his assassination in 1978, he continues to inspire disenfranchised people around the world.
In 1985, Star Trek's George Takei joined a group of dedicated fans to make a student film deep in the California forest—only for the footage to mysteriously vanish. Nearly 40 years later, Beam Me Up, Sulu unearths this lost film, revealing not just a piece of fan history but a broader story of representation, resilience, and the ongoing fight for inclusion in media and society.
By issuing marriage licenses to same gender couples, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom uproots the status quo and attempts to change the way the nation looks at life, love, and marriage.
STREET SMART: LESSONS FROM A TV ICON is a feature documentary about Sonia Manzano — known to millions as “Maria” from SESAME STREET. The film follows Sonia’s remarkable journey, from a young girl in the South Bronx finding refuge in television, to becoming the first Latina on American TV in a regular role, through 44 years on screen on SESAME STREET, and now as a creator of ALMA'S WAY. Featuring interviews with luminaries, original animation, and scripted scenes that blend humor and heart, this inspirational documentary invites viewers to learn once again from this beloved icon.
Filmed over five years in Kansas City, this documentary follows four transgender kids – beginning at ages 4, 7, 12, and 15 – as they redefine “coming of age.” These kids and their families show us the intimate realities of how gender is re-shaping the family next door in a unique and unprecedented chronicle of growing up transgender in the heartland.
An experimental documentary looking at the transgender experience around the world over two hemispheres, three continents and with four interviewees. The film employs limited B roll shots or edits during the interviews, instead opting to have the interviews mostly uncut, with the goal of creating both a level of sincerity and a conversational narrative between any one of the interviewees and the audience.
Chronicles the extraordinary life of artist Felicia DeRosa, who came out as transgender at the age of 41. With her life, career, and marriage potentially at risk, Felicia embarks on a journey towards authenticity and self-acceptance.
Ewa Hołuszko is a remarkable figure. In the 1980s she bore the male name of Marek Hołuszko, an active Solidarity movement activist. After 1989 she could not fully enjoy the regained freedom as the place of communism was taken by another enemy, more difficult to defeat, intolerance and exclusion. Gender change made her realize how far away Polish society is from full freedom. Nevertheless, she still believes that it is possible to live in a different Poland, free from stigmatization, persecution and prejudice against others.
Crying of Angels is the first documentary film about the gay community in the history of Slovak cinema. The collage of stories from the lives of the protagonists does not attempt to objectively portray this minority in post-communist society, but is an author's testimony about the existence of a people in conflict with social norms and with themselves.
The art of drag represents an artistic transformation where individuals create characters by amplifying gendered traits, challenging established social norms. This practice, known for its spectacular performances, has evolved through periods of repression and acceptance. Through humor and self-mockery, drag disrupts conventions and is deeply rooted in the history of LGBT+ movements. This documentary traces the history of Drag in France and around the world, from William Dorsey Swann—a young emancipated slave considered the first drag queen—to RuPaul, Nicky Doll, and Paloma. Featuring contributions from historians, anthropologists, and sociologists specialized in drag, as well as testimonies from drag artists who are shaping or have shaped this history.
At a time when transgender people are banned from serving in the U.S. military, four of the thousands of transgender troops risking discharge fight to attain the freedom they so fiercely protect.
Through archive footage and images as well as interviews, the movie paints the portrait of a legendary trans womens' rights activist in Argentina. Like a family album to flip through, the narrative charts the ties solidarity and mutual aid create between people of the LGBTQI+ community and the long road to make the personal political, during the brutal 1980s in latin America.
Lucy Rose, a transgender woman, shares her journey of self-love and empowerment since starting hormone replacement therapy three years ago. The film is part animation, part documentary and part VHS archive footage.
The extraordinary story of a world-renowned patent attorney in Sugar Land, Texas who, at 57, came out as a trans woman and is now navigating LGBTQ+ issues and fighting for trans rights in the vortex of Texas conservatism, as she and her family challenge the idea of what modern love looks like.
In French Polynesia, transgender people evolve with apparent fluidity in all components of society. Their presence, observed as early as the 18th century by Western travelers and missionaries, has never ceased to intrigue and fascinate, producing over time numerous myths that the transgender women and men of Polynesia are today attempting to deconstruct. Through a series of luminous and intimate portraits, this documentary gives them a voice and proposes a rereading of gender issues in the light of Oceanian thought: an obvious enrichment.
Trans is a 1982 Venezuelan documentary short film that offers an intimate look into the lives of a group of trans women and drag performers in Caracas, exploring their experiences in a society marked by transphobia and homophobia. Through interviews and performances, the documentary highlights the resilience and dignity of these women in the face of widespread discrimination and violence. Premiering at the Venezuelan National Cinematheque in 1982, Trans is considered a pioneering work in the representation of the trans community in Latin American cinema.