Authenticity: Trans Shorts

These trans shorts are a testament to living authentically, whether it’s running a dog-walking business, sitting by your grandmother’s bedside, applying for a passport, or starting a revolution.

REBELLIOUS ESSENCE (Uporni duh)
Ana Čigon; 2017; Slovenia; 5 min.
This kaleidoscopic animation follows a psychedelic genderfluid cat’s bureaucratic nightmare at the Ministry for Cat Affairs.

FIRST DAY
Julie Kalceff; 2017; Australia; 18 min.
It’s Hannah’s first day of high school—not to mention her first day in public as a girl.

DROPPING PENNY
Jed Bell; 2018; USA; 8 min.
Two trans dog walkers race to get a pup back to her alpha butch mom (Cheryl Dunye, WATERMELON WOMAN, TWIST 2016 retrospective) in this very queer comedy.

BURTON BEFORE AND AFTER
Courtney Hermann; 2017; USA; 15 min.
Ever want to go back in time to meet your previous self? Burton puts his truth before his fear in this portrait of transition, memory, and friendship.

TIME MARCHES ON AND SO DO WE
Kim Boekbinder & Jim Batt; 2017; USA; 4 min.
Laverne Cox narrates an animated journey through trans history and resistance.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARSHA!
Reina Gossett & Sasha Wortzel; 2017; USA; 14 min.
The story of extraordinary trans rights pioneers Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, in the hours before the Stonewall riots, is told with glitter, magical realism, and an eye for detail.

MATHIAS
Clara Stern; 2017; Austria; 30 min.; in German with English subtitles
Tough but claustrophobic, MATHIAS is an emotional roller-coaster ride through the eponymous character’s efforts to fit in.

Total running time: 94 min.

Vulgar language, explicit sexual situations, and implied violence