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Films
“There's power in being seen. By living authentically and fully as ourselves, we're also ensuring that those who need to se someone like us, can."
- Andy Duran
Representation in art and media can be powerfully affirming and deeply inspiring both within and beyond the Trans+ community. As the treasury of Trans films grows, so too, do public understanding and affirmation. If you’re simply looking for a fun film to dive into this vibrant culture, a way to see yourself or a loved one represented on screen, or an educational production that encompasses some aspect of Trans+ history, you’ve come to the right place.
Highlighted businesses: Trans-owned= 🏳️⚧️, BlPOC-owned=✊🏾
Genre(s):
Chilean, Drama
Description:
This Chilean drama won Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. The film follows a trans woman, Marina, who faces discrimination and transphobia after the unexpected death of her boyfriend, Orlando. After receiving much critical acclaim, the film was used by Chilean LGBTQIA+ activists in order to eventually pass a Chilean bill allowing trans individuals to legally change their names and update their gender identities on official documents.
Rating:
R
Year of Release:
2017
Considerations:
Marina is portrayed by trans actress Daniela Vega
Genre(s):
Biographical Drama
Description:
A Girl Like Me tells the story of Gwen Araujo, a young trans Latina, who was beaten and murdered by a group of men who attacked her after they found out she was trans when she was just 17 years old.
Rating:
TW-14
Year of Release:
2006
Considerations:
JD Pardo, who plays Gwen, is a cisgender man.
Genre(s):
PBS Documentary, Short
Description:
This short documentary about a Hawaiian hula troupe focuses on a young dancer “who identifies as male and female” and the teacher that helped them embrace that identity.
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2014
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Biographical Drama
Description:
Biopic of transgender Muay Thai boxer Parinya Charoenphol who pursued the sport to pay for her gender reassignment surgery. The male kickboxer Asanee Suwan, who played the lead, won the Thai version of the “Oscar” for Best Actor.
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2004
Considerations:
The director, Ekachai Uekrongtham, had many conversations with Asanee Suwan (who portrays Parinya Charoenphol, a trans woman and professional boxer), to ensure he would not stereotype the lived experiences of trans women.
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
A documentary on Candy Darling, The Life and Times of the Andy Warhol Superstar.
Rating:
NR (Not Rated)
Year of Release:
2010
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
Documentary of the FTM transition of the child of Sunny and Cher, Chaz.
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2011
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Romantic Comedy
Description:
Boy Meets Girl is a funny, tender, sex positive romantic comedy that explores what it means to be a real man or woman, and how important it is to live a courageous life not letting fear stand in the way of going after your dreams.
Rating:
R
Year of Release:
2014
Considerations:
Michelle Hendley is a trans actress who plays a woman in transition. This film is important because it not only humanizes trans people, but it also explores other facets of identity.
Genre(s):
Biographical Drama
Description:
Based on the true story of Brandon Teena, raped and murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska in December 1993 after two acquaintances discovered that he was trans
Rating:
R
Year of Release:
1999
Considerations:
Hilary Swank, a cisgender woman, portrays Brandon Teena in this film. However, considering the time it was released, it brought widespread awareness to the experiences of trans individuals and the discrimination they face.
Genre(s):
Drama, Comedy
Description:
an Irish transgender kid coming of age in 1970s London. Also starring Liam Neeson and Stephen Rea (‘natch), the movie was nominated for Golden Globe’s Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, and won Best Actor, Best Script and Best Director at The Irish Film & Television Awards.
Rating:
R
Year of Release:
2005
Considerations:
Cillian Murphy, a cisgender actor, plays young trans character, Kitten.
Genre(s):
Biography, Drama
Description:
In 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is diagnosed with the disease.
Rating:
R
Year of Release:
2013
Considerations:
Jared Leto, a cisgender man, plays a trans woman in this film.
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
An in-depth look at Hollywood's depiction of transgender people and the impact of those stories on transgender lives and American culture
Rating:
TV-MA
Year of Release:
2020
Considerations:
Executive Producer Laverne Cox
Genre(s):
Drama
Description:
Written and directed by a trans woman of color named Sydney Freeland, Drunktown’s Finest also co-stars a trans woman of color playing a trans woman of color. This film is about three interconnected young Navajo people, including a sex worker and aspiring model Felixia played by newcomer Carmen Moore. Freeland and Moore bring an authenticity to a trans woman’s story that’s rare in film, and even more rare for a Native American trans woman.
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2014
Considerations:
Writer and director of the film is Sydney Freeland and is a trans woman. Important moment of representation for trans Native people in film.
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
This film confronts the culture of violence surrounding trans women of color.
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2016
Considerations:
Executive producer Laverne Cox
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
A Colorado family is thrust into the international media spotlight when they fight for the rights of their 6-year-old transgender daughter in a landmark civil rights case.
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2016
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Drama
Description:
An ex-con returns home to the Bronx after three years in prison to discover his wife estranged and his child exploring a gender transformation that will put the fragile bonds of their family to the test.
Rating:
R
Year of Release:
2011
Considerations:
Harmony Santana (plays the daughter, Vanessa), is the first openly trans actress portraying a trans character to be nominated for a major acting award in the US.
Genre(s):
Musical
Description:
An off-Broadway cult musical adapted for cinema about a transgender German glam rocker (John Cameron Mitchell) recounting the story of her betrayal by her former boyfriend.
Rating:
R
Year of Release:
2001
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
This groundbreaking documentary follows several intersex people who seek to demystify their identities and the common misconceptions associated with them.
Rating:
PG-13
Year of Release:
2012
Considerations:
Researched and presented by New Zealand's first openly intersex and activist, Mani Mitchell.
Genre(s):
Drama
Description:
A coming of age film and a portrayal of the experience of a young trans girl.
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2017
Considerations:
This film has another cisgender young man playing the role of a trans young woman.
Genre(s):
Foreign Film (Germany)
Description:
This Belgian movie, a.k.a. My Life In Pink, tells the story of a young boy who just wants to be who she is. Winner of the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film
Rating:
R
Year of Release:
1997
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Documentary
Biography
Description:
A documentary about the power of transformation told through the eyes of 9 trans-identifying individuals in Puerto Rico.
Rating:
NR (Not Rated)
Year of Release:
2014
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
This documentary explores the world of transgender bodybuilding, tracking the path of four hopefuls as they prepare for the Trans FitCon competition in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2018
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
A story as a Trans woman of faith with a supportive spouse who was an ordained minister
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2024
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Foreign Film (Isreali)
Description:
Shlomo who discovers in his son's Assaf room, women's clothing and accessories, decides to 'teach the boy a lesson'. When Assaf returns to his parents' home on a rainy night from a party, his attempts to enter home fail.
Rating:
Adult
Year of Release:
2011
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Drama
Description:
MUTT is a feature film written and directed by a trans man, Vuk Lungulov-Klotz (he/him). It stars trans masculine, Latiné actor Lío Meheil (they/them), and it follows the character Feña, who must navigate encounters with the people who vanished when he transitioned, including his Chilean father. The truthful intimacies of this film will resonate deeply for anyone navigating transition — be they the main character, a relative, or an ex.
Rating:
TV-MA
Year of Release:
2023
Considerations:
The film premiered at Sundance and won a Special Jury Award for Best Actor — the first ever awarded to a trans actor!
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
The documentary "Muxes: Authentic, Intrepid Seekers of Danger" explores the lives and experiences of muxes, focusing on their self-identification, defense of sexual diversity, preservation of their Zapotec identity, and their fight against AIDS in Oaxaca.
Rating:
Unrated
Year of Release:
2005
Considerations:
Muxes are a third gender recognized by the Zapotec people of Juchitán, Mexico, who are assigned male at birth but adopt feminine gender roles
Genre(s):
French Documentary
Description:
This documentary follows the experiences of four intersex people who are committed to revealing the error in a binary understanding of gender, as well as the physical and psychological trauma associated with unnecessary, forced medical procedures on intersex individuals.
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2019
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Biographical Drama
Description:
Sally Potter’s adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel of the same name follows the immortal life of a young nobleman in Elizabethan times who, a few centuries later, wakes up one morning as a woman. Deliciously androgynous Tilda Swinton plays the title character and British dandy Quentin Crisp, the “queen of queens,” plays an elderly Queen Elizabeth I. While it wasn’t widely embraced at the time of its release, its visually stunning examination of gender identity earned a theatrical re-release in 2010 by Sony Pictures Classics.
Rating:
PG-13
Year of Release:
1992
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
A chronicle of New York's drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality.
Rating:
R
Year of Release:
1990
Considerations:
This film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2016 for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Genre(s):
Short
Documentary
Biographical
Description:
This short documentary profiles the lives of three trans men of color
Rating:
NR (Not Rated)
Year of Release:
2015
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
This intimate documentary follows a young trans boy transitioning and the importance of a supportive family.
Rating:
PG-13
Year of Release:
2017
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
A documentary featuring identical twins Mark and Clair Farley
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
1992
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Biographical Drama
Description:
The true story of the price a young soldier paid for falling in love with a trans woman night-club performer.
Rating:
R
Year of Release:
2003
Considerations:
Another film where a cisgender man plays a trans woman.
Genre(s):
Drama
Comedy
Description:
A trans working girl tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart.
Rating:
R
Year of Release:
2015
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Crime
Romance
Drama
Description:
While it’s been criticized for reinforcing societal norms rather than challenging them (since we never really get inside the heart and mind of Dil, the transgendered character), The Crying Game made the cut for this list because of its critical acclaim. It was nominated for all the Oscar biggies—Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor (for Dil’s portrayal), Best Original Screenplay—and won for its script. Kind of a big deal for a movie with a transgendered main character made over 20 years ago, in 1992. Plus, the movie song of the same title was recorded by Boy George, one of the greatest gender-benders of all time.
Rating:
R
Year of Release:
1992
Considerations:
In addition to being critized for reinforcing societal norms, Jaye Davidson, the actor who plays Dil, is a gay, cisgender man.
Genre(s):
Biographical Drama
Description:
A fictitious love story loosely inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda's marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili's groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.
Rating:
R
Year of Release:
2015
Considerations:
Eddie Redmayne, the actor who portrays Lily, is a cisgender man. The male gaze and interpretation is shown in the film's larger conversation on feminity.
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
The hour-long documentary follows the lives of seven transgender youths.
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2015
Considerations:
Produced by Laverne Cox
Genre(s):
Documentary
Biographical
Description:
The Trans List explores the range of experiences lived by Americans who identify as transgender.
Rating:
TV-MA
Year of Release:
2016
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Drama
Description:
A 14-year-old who is exploring gender identity must make a decision whether or not to transition after two years of medication and therapy.
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2017
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Drama
Spanish
Description:
Young Esteban wants to become a writer and also to discover the identity of his second mother, a trans woman, carefully concealed by his mother Manuela.
Rating:
R
Year of Release:
1999
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Foreign Film (French)
Description:
10-year-old named Laure deliberately presents as a boy named Mikhael to the neighborhood children. It is heavily implied that Mikhael is a closeted transgender boy. This film follows his experiences with his newfound friends, his potential love interest, Lisa, his younger sister and his parents. It focuses in on the significance of gender identity in social interaction from an early age, the difficulties of being transgender and young, and how Mikhael navigates these in the background of childhood play and love.
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2011
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
This documentary interviews several trans individuals and their lived experiences.
Rating:
PG-13
Year of Release:
2013
Considerations:
TW: Misgendering of trans individuals happens often throughout the documentary, by both narrator and their respective family members.
Genre(s):
Short
Documentary
Description:
This short documentary follows two homeless, transgender activists in the summer of 2015 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as they struggle against police brutality, confront stereotypes, and put together a participatory photo project with disposable cameras.
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2015
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Comedy
Drama
Description:
Felicity Huffman of Desperate Housewives fame received a lot of praise—including an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for best actress—for her portrayal of a transwoman on a road trip with her long-lost son. As the prim, good-hearted Sabrina, Huffman brings empathy to the emotional journey of transitioning.
Rating:
R
Year of Release:
2005
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
New York Times Documentary
Description:
A transgender airman is deployed to Afghanistan as the gender he knows himself to be. But everyday he risks being discharged because outdated U.S. policy bans open trans service.
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2015
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
Filmed over five years in Kansas City, this documentary follows four kids - beginning at ages 4, 7, 12, and 15 - as they redefine "coming of age."
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2020
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
At a time when transgender people are banned from serving in the US the military, four transgender troops risking discharge fight to attain the freedom they so fiercely protect.
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2016
Considerations:
Won the SXSW Audience Award for Best Documentary in 2018.
Genre(s):
Short
Documentary
Biographical
Description:
A short documentary following a trans woman and her experience growing up trans and Mormon.
Rating:
UR (Unrated)
Year of Release:
2014
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
A documentary that explores the challenges and successes of five trans women.
Rating:
PG-13
Year of Release:
2014
Considerations:
None
Genre(s):
Romance
Drama
French
Description:
A transgender woman who survives prostituting herself in Paris, returns - with her two male lovers in tow - to her family home in the countryside to look after her dying mother.
Rating:
NR (Not Rated)
Year of Release:
2004
Considerations:
Trans main character, Stephanie, is also played by a trans actress Steohanie Michelini. This is groundbreaking considering the time in which it was filmed.
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
Max and Bastian are both between childhood and adolescence. Max was assigned female gender at birth but has come out as a transgender boy. And Bastian, assigned male gender at birth, feels more like a girl. They are both faced with the choice of whether to start on hormones to end their puberty. But can you trust themselves when everything is constantly changing? Max and Bastian are surrounded by friends and family who do everything they can to understand them and help them to whatever they decide in Julie Bezerra Madsen’s equally empathetic film, which follows them through a period in life when everyone is changing – some of us just change a bit more than others.
Rating:
12 and older
Year of Release:
2023
Considerations:
Language is Danish
offers a compassionate and nuanced portrayal of transgender youth, emphasizing the importance of autonomy, self-trust, and support during gender exploration. The film highlights how affirming environments and access to informed choices, such as puberty blockers, are crucial for the well-being of trans adolescents
Genre(s):
Documentary
Description:
Two young actors are exploring the topic of representation of LGBTI people through the history of Yugoslav cinema and social circumstances that have resulted in different treatment of these characters.
Rating:
Not Rated
Year of Release:
2024
Considerations:
Released in Serbia
While "Topli Film" delves into the portrayal of LGBTIQ characters in Yugoslav and Serbian cinema, specific details about its focus on transgender representation are not extensively detailed in the available sources.
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