25/48
An American trans man from Iran travels back in time to an LGBTQ+ archive to understand his sexuality. He confronts his past and present during an erotic journey of self-discovery. This is a documentary about gay-to-male transgender women and transgender-to-male women. It deals primarily with life after transition, with little emphasis on the transition process itself. It also deals with those whose physical orientation is male. There are two main categories of subjects: One is Lou Sullivan, a transgender activist who is also a pioneer in identifying as gay. He is represented by numerous excerpts from interviews he gave on television, plus the writings of a correspondent who was standing next to him. The others are a series of interviews with various trans people of varying presentation and anatomy: one subject, identified as male, insisted on keeping his vagina. They often have trouble finding intimate partners, although Trans Night at the gay baths is a great help as they do not have to explain themselves. This is shrouded in narrative drama. An Iranian trans American (who left Iran shortly after the revolution) goes to a queer archive in Chicago to do research and befriends a younger, boyish trans employee. The Iranian angle is heightened by discussions about an Iranian “omelet” dish. This hybrid approach added interest and made it seem like more than the dryness of a normal documentary. I watched this as part of a film festival with actors and a director. The director mentioned that the Iranian actor helped with a short “proof of concept” to apply for funding and it continued, with Iranian undertones added to the script. The other actor was an activist in his own right, and his role was written with him in mind.