49/26
This is a documentary about gay female-to-male and female-to-male transgender people
Narrative
An Iranian American trans man goes back in time to an LGBTQ+ archive to understand his sexuality. He encounters his past and present during an erotic journey of self-discovery. It focuses primarily on life after transition, with little emphasis on the transition process itself.
There are two main categories of subjects
It also focuses on those whose physical orientation is male. One is Lou Sullivan, an F-to-M trans activist who was also a pioneer in identifying as gay. He is represented by numerous excerpts from interviews he has given on TV, plus writings by a correspondent of his.
This is wrapped in a narrative drama
The other is a series of interviews with various trans people of different presentations and anatomies: one subject who identified as male insisted on keeping her vagina. They often have difficulty finding intimate partners, although Trans Nights at gay bathhouses are a great help, in not having to explain themselves. A trans masculine Iranian-American (who left Iran soon after the revolution) goes to a queer archive in Chicago to do research and befriends a younger, more masculine trans staff member.
I saw it as part of a film festival, with the cast and director present
The Iranian aspect is enhanced by discussions over an Iranian plate of “omelette.” This hybrid approach added interest and made it feel more than the dryness of a simple documentary. The director said the Iranian actor helped do a short “proof of concept” to solicit funding and was kept, with Iranian touches added to the script. The other actor was an activist in his own right and his part was written with him in mind.