A random collection of films authored by or about my transgender, intersex sisters, and gender-nonconforming persons all over the world. I watched some of them, and I was inspired by some of them. I met some of the authors and heroines, some of them are my best friends, and I had the pleasure and honor of interviewing some of them. If you know of any transgender documentary that I have not covered yet, please let me know.
Director: Alain Godet
Release Year: 2004
Translation: Sex Change: How Christian Became Nadia
Synopsis:
The documentary Sex Change: Wie Christian zu Nadia wurde (2004), directed by Alain Godet, is an intimate and poignant exploration of a person’s transition from man to woman. The subject of this transformative journey is Christian Brönimann, who, after undergoing gender reassignment surgery in 1998, re-emerged as Nadia Brönimann. Over the course of eight years, Godet meticulously followed Nadia’s journey, capturing moments of personal growth, crises, and the search for identity, love, and acceptance. Through this film, viewers are given rare insight into the challenges and complexities that accompany gender transition, beyond just the physical changes, and into the emotional and psychological struggles that shape the human experience.
Christian Brönimann’s story is one of self-discovery and self-representation. Growing up in the small Swiss village of Heiden, Christian was raised in a middle-class, bourgeois family. His father was a director, and the family’s social circle was largely conventional and conservative. Christian's early life is marked by a sense of alienation from traditional gender roles. From a young age, he gravitated more toward the company of girls than boys and secretly wore his mother's clothes. These early experiences suggest that Christian was already beginning to feel a disconnect between his inner sense of self and the gender role imposed upon him by society.
2004,
German,
Nadia Brönimann,
Switzerland,
Director: Laurence Périgaud
Release Year: 2012
Original title: Entre il et ailes - Devenir femme à 60 ans
Synopsis:
In 2012, the world witnessed a powerful and poignant documentary, Entre il et ailes – Devenir femme à 60 ans (translated as In einem Jahr zu Christa – Frau werden mit sechzig). Directed by Laurence Périgaud, the film followed the life of Christa Muth, a distinguished professor of management, systems scientist, and transgender activist, as she embarked on a deeply personal and transformative journey to embrace her true identity as a woman. Muth’s story is not just a tale of gender transition; it is a journey of profound self-discovery, courage, and societal reflection that transcends the boundaries of personal experience to become a universal narrative about human rights, identity, and freedom.
Born in 1949 in Rheydt, a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Christa Muth spent the majority of her life navigating the complexities of her gender identity in a world that expected her to fit neatly into the binary roles of “male” and “female.”
2012,
Christa Muth,
French,
German,
Switzerland,
Director: Sylvie Cachin
Release Year: 2008
Synopsis:
In Claudette (2008), a documentary directed by Sylvie Cachin, viewers are introduced to a charismatic and resilient woman who embodies a complex tapestry of gender identity, sexuality, and personal freedom. Claudette, at 60 years old, is a prostitute who unapologetically takes pride in her profession. Her androgynous nature, pride in her work, and activist stance challenge societal norms, asking us to reconsider preconceived notions of identity, love, and autonomy. Claudette’s story is not just that of a sex worker; it is a narrative about the fluidity of gender, the acceptance of one's true self, and the fight for the rights of marginalized individuals.
Born as Claude in Switzerland, the protagonist of the film was intersex, possessing both male and female genitalia. Claude's birth was a medical anomaly that, for many in the world, could have led to confusion, stigma, or attempts to force a rigid gender identity upon the child. However, in an unusual and progressive twist, Claudette’s Swiss parents did not pressure her into a fixed gender role. Instead, they raised her with love and an open mind, supporting the fluidity of her identity. She was raised in Morocco as a boy but was given a gender-flexible name, one that could shift depending on how she identified over the years.
From a young age, Claude’s life was shaped by a sense of duality — not just biologically, but also emotionally and socially. She accepted her androgynous nature with aplomb, never feeling the need to conform to traditional gender roles. This open-mindedness in her upbringing was crucial in shaping the person she would become: a woman who lived her life as she chose, regardless of societal expectations.
2008,
French,
Switzerland,
