21/42
This is a documentary about female-to-male and female-to-male homosexual transgender people
Synopsis
An Iranian-American transgender man travels back in time to an LGBTQ+ archive to understand his sexuality. He encounters his past and present on an erotic journey of self-discovery. It deals primarily with life after transition, with little emphasis on the transition process itself.
There are two main categories of subjects
It also deals with those whose physical orientation leans toward male. One is Lou Sullivan, a F-to-M transgender activist who was also the first to identify as gay. He is represented by multiple excerpts from his television interviews, as well as the writings of a correspondent sent to him.
It’s all wrapped up in a narrative drama
The other is a series of interviews with various transgender people of different presentations and anatomies—one subject who identified as male insisted on keeping her vagina. They often have trouble finding intimate partners, though the trans parties at gay baths are a big help, because they don’t have to explain themselves. A transgender American male (who left Iran shortly after the revolution) goes to a gay archive in Chicago to do research and befriends a younger, boyish transgender staff member.
I saw this film at a film festival, with the cast and director in attendance
The Iranian angle is reinforced by discussions over an Iranian dish of “omelette.” This hybrid approach added interest and made the film feel less like a dry documentary. The director mentioned that the Iranian actor helped make a short “proof of concept” to pitch for funding, and that it was selected, with Iranian touches added to the script. The other actor was himself an activist in his own right and his role was written with him in mind.