TRANSGENDER-THEMED FILMS AND TV SERIES TO WATCH (OR RE-WATCH):

Have you just read “Dobbiamo essere leoni”, loved it, and are now looking for a film or series to watch? Or maybe you have yet to start reading but are intrigued by the theme? Fear not, we’ll help you with this list of films and TV series starring young queer kids: stories of courage, coming out and discovering gender identity.
Let’s get started!

TOMBOY (2011)

A film directed by Céline Sciamma, director of Portrait of a Young Girl on Fire, it tells the story of Laure, a young girl who takes advantage of her family’s move to a neighbourhood where no one knows her to introduce herself as a boy to the local kids. The film won the 26th Turin GLBT Film Festival.

GIRL (2018)

Belgian film written and directed by Lukas Dhont. Lara, played by Victor Polster, is an MtF teenager: a talented dancer, she wants to complete her transition as quickly as possible so she can devote herself to her studies. But this haste leads her to make wrong and risky choices: will her father’s love and the support of her classmates and teachers be able to help her?

BOYS DON’T CRY (1999)

Iconic film from the 1990s starring Hilary Swank: the life of Brandon, a boy from a small town in Nebraska, is put in danger when someone reveals that Brandon was born a girl. The film caused quite a stir, not least because the murder of a gay teenager, Matthew Shepard, occurred at the same time as its release. Thanks to this film, Hilary Swank won the Oscar for Best Actress in 2000.

EUPHORIA (2019)

An HBO series created and written by Sam Levinson, it tells the story of a group of high schoolers struggling with drugs, sex, identity, trauma, love and friendship. Among these kids is Rue, played by Zendaya, a 17-year-old with a drug problem whose life completely changes when she meets Jules, a girl who has just moved to town, played by Hunter Schafer, who, like the character she plays, is transgender.

POSE (2018-2021)

The series created by Ryan Murphy, already known for Glee, American Horror Story and Scream Queens, takes us on a tour of New York ballrooms, meeting places for the black queer community in the 1980s and 1990s.