Michael Barnett, US, 2019, 95’
The enraged crowd bays for blood and hisses invective at a fifteen year old transgender athlete at a wrestling match. It’s a threat to all that is apple pie; a deviancy that makes teenagers neither fish nor fowl. Mack, the wrestler who was born a girl, now takes testosterone in his process of transitioning but state law says he must compete in the gender category he was born into – so he wrestles girls. And then there’s Sarah, the talented young skier who confronts the state legislature with wisdom beyond her years – she’s 15 and transitioning to a girl. Finally there’s Andraya, the trans runner who gets flack from track moms who call her a cheat and worse when she wins races. The film gets to the tender heart of each youngster by capturing the essence of youth in its carefree, earnest purity: girly girl stuff like nails and giggles and macho battles with the gym equipment make a mockery of the gender tramlines as the kids search for their true identities.
Please see note on parental guidance below.
Michael Barnett is an Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker. His films include SUPERHEROS (HBO Documentary Films) which won over a dozen festivals and multiple Emmy® nominations; BECOMING BULLETPROOF (Showtime), winner of over 25 awards; and THE MARS GENERATION (Netflix Original/Sundance premiere), 2018 Best Science & Technology Documentary Emmy® nominee.
Director: Michael Barnett
Producer: Clare Tucker
Camera: Turner Jumonville
Editor: Michael Mahaffie, Amanda Griffin
Music: Tyler Strickland
SCREENING TIME
Saturday 16th November, 2.30pm, Cinema 2 (Q&A)
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