An investigation of how Hollywood's fabled stories have deeply influenced how Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people have been taught to feel about themselves.
Acting
Cox and Richards deliver devastating personal testimony.
Editing
Juxtaposition of Hollywood fantasy against lived reality.
Production
All trans crew; the ethics match the subject.
Director
Sam Feder
Laverne Cox
Self - Actress
Bianca Leigh
Self - Actress / Writer
Jen Richards
Self - Actress / Writer
Alexandra Billings
Self - Actress / Educator
Susan Stryker
Self - Historian
Yance Ford
Self - Filmmaker
Lilly Wachowski
Self - Filmmaker
Brian Michael Smith
Self - Actor
Elliot Fletcher
Self - Actor
Marquise Vilson
Self - Actor
Jazzmun
Self - Actress
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The film sparked industry-wide crew disclosure policies; Netflix now requires trans consultants on relevant content. Feder's transparency about his own hiring practices became a model.
Susan Stryker's archival discovery that 1914 film A Florida Enchantment used actual trans performers—not cis actors—rewrites assumptions about early cinema. The 'recent progress' narrative collapses.
US
