Release Year: 2014
Synopsis:
Released in 2012, Mala Mala is a documentary that takes us on an intimate journey into the lives of transgender individuals in Puerto Rico. Directed by Antonio Santini and Dan Sickles, the film explores themes of identity, gender, sexuality, and the struggles of being a part of a community that is often overlooked or misunderstood. Although neither Santini nor Sickles identify as transgender, the filmmakers were captivated by the lives of those in Puerto Rico’s vibrant transgender and drag queen communities and set out to tell their stories. The result is a poignant, thought-provoking exploration of personal transformation, social acceptance, and the fight for equality.
Sickles and Santini’s venture into the transgender community began serendipitously. The pair met during their studies at New York University, and their paths crossed again at a film festival in Austin, Texas, where they encountered a drag queen who would alter the course of their filmmaking careers. This drag queen opened up about her life, her struggles, and the complexities of gender and identity, igniting a spark in Santini and Sickles. They felt a deep connection to the universal human desire to define oneself and to achieve one's goals despite social or biological constraints.
“It is universally related to human desires, how we all aspire to be certain things in our life, and if there is a road or a way of achieving those goals,” Sickles reflected in an interview. “They use and employ these methods as a means to achieve those things.” This sentiment became the foundation of their documentary: a way of exploring how individuals, particularly those in marginalized communities, navigate and define their own identities.
