Trans-Active 21[2023]

All About My Mother(es)

Following the tragic death of her teenage son, Manuela travels from Madrid to Barcelona in an attempt to contact the long-estranged father the boy never knew. She reunites with an old friend, an outspoken transgender sex worker, and befriends a troubled actress and a pregnant, HIV-positive nun.

Bad Education(es)

An examination on the effect of Franco-era religious schooling and sexual abuse on the lives of two longtime friends.

Something Must Break(sv)

A gritty story taking place in Stockholm, about the passionate love between the self-abusive Sebastian who wants to be a woman, and the easy-going Andreas who is certainly not gay.

Ed Wood(en)

The mostly true story of the legendary "worst director of all time", who, with the help of his strange friends, filmed countless B-movies without ever becoming famous or successful.

Advent(es)

Suso, a young unemployed man, spies a young woman who throws herself off a cliff, before he could do anything about it. Suso will seek answers that awaken memories of the past and even make him rethink his true identity.

mermaids don't play hopscotch(en)

Amidst the sea of forgotten treasures, Kokoy, guided by his godmother Jessica and her eccentric companion Tessa, discovers the radiant pearls of defying society's rules.

Aforismo(pt)

Meet The Girl Who Became A Man(en)

Peter Alexander, interviewed in Sydney, born and brought up as Mavis Higgins in New Zealand, speaks of his sex change from female to male. He discusses the aspects of his personality when younger which influenced his decision, his view of women in society and his plans for the future. Although Peter talks about shaving it is not clear if any medical intervention had assisted his sex change. The predominant voice in this clip is that of Alexander, dressed in jacket and tie, talking cheerily about his interest in sport, his awareness that his "male side and personality" were always dominant, his desire to marry and continue with his musical career. The story was sensationalised in the tabloid newspaper of the day "The Truth".

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask(en)

A collection of seven vignettes, which each address a question concerning human sexuality. From aphrodisiacs to sexual perversion to the mystery of the male orgasm, characters like a court jester, a doctor, a queen and a journalist adventure through lab experiments and game shows, all seeking answers to common questions that many would never ask.

The Fabulous Ones(it)

It often happens that at the moment of death, transgender individuals are shorn of their identity. Their families are ashamed, the funeral takes place in secret, and on the tomb appears the name the deceased had before their transition, in one stroke nullifying the entire life path they had chosen. The same thing happened to Antonia. Her girlfriends gather to honor her memory and give her back her identity denied. In telling her story, the film’s stars, all drawn from the variegated transgender world, interweave the narrative with tales of their own lives, experiences, and memories.

XXY(es)

Alex, an intersexed 15-year-old, is living as a girl, but she and her family begin to wonder whether she's emotionally a boy when another teenager's sexual advances bring the issue to a head. As Alex faces a final decision regarding her gender, she meets both hostility and compassion.

heroes(en)

Displaying the faces and voices of transgender youth, the documentary short shows the authenticity of queer and trans people living in Toronto, while simultaneously discussing the struggles for self-acceptance that people who do not conform to cisgender and heteronormative ideals of gender face. Andy Nguyen, trans director and film student, captures his trans friends in their natural state on 16mm film shot on a Bolex h16 camera. Accompanied by narration written and recited by Salem Rao, this film represents that trans people exist and this is what we look like. Regardless of the obvious everyday transphobia, trans people find community and uniqueness within each other and themselves.

it's a girl!(en)

A self-portrait short film on 16mm from a trans male perspective.

Thelma(fr)

Vincent, a down-at-the-heels French cab driver, desparately in need of cash for child support is intrigued when Thelma charters his cab for a trip to Crete. As they travel, talk and flirt, they become friends but the situation grows complicated when Vincent discovers that Telma is a trans woman. Will Vincent decide to explore a country that he's never been to?

There's a Star(fr)

Samuel LeBlanc, a young transgender musician, embarks on a journey with his friends through the work of Acadian musician Angèle Arsenault (1943-2014). Coming from a small village, Samuel has long questioned his queer identity and his cultural identity. Does a queer Acadie exist? This musical documentary project will explore his double minority and the journey of young people, who like him, realize that despite the difficulties there is a star for each of us.

Norbert(a)(es)

Norberto has spent a lifetime with María. They are humble, from the neighborhood, and from time to time robbers. But Norberto needs to take a turn to feel alive, free, and to be herself. An unexpected confession will jeopardize his entire life.

Tie and Red Nail(pt)

Several characters realize their personal way to build their own identity from the choice of genre. Transsexual, transgender, crossdressing – the defining of terminologies different ways of looking at yourself are constantly rising, portraying a universe of possibilities, expanding the boundaries of the possible and permitted.

COWBOY(en)

Cowboy, a young transgender man, flees his hometown in search of a new beginning but the shadows of his past trail closely behind him.

Boy Meets Girl(en)

In Kentucky, a transgender woman and her best male friend lament the lack of eligible partners and step across old boundaries of love and romance.

Carmín tropical(es)

Mabel travels to her hometown to find the murderer of her friend Daniela. A journey through nostalgia, love and betrayal in a place where transgenderism once took on an unusual dimension.