Film Forum

1:00 & 9:20 ONLY

“When I grow up, I’m going to be a girl,” declares 3-year-old Sasha, assigned male at birth in provincial France.  In time, the petite 8-year-old dons pink dresses and hair ribbons — though only at home — as she and her close-knit family confront their community’s resistance to her calmly proclaimed identity. From Sasha’s bedroom to scenes of alienation in ballet class and the school principal’s office — and finally to sessions with an empathetic therapist in Paris — the filmmaker captures this child’s poignant emotional shifts, by turns remarkably mature and heartbreakingly anxious. Her strong-willed mother fights tirelessly on Sasha’s behalf, moving through complex stages of guilt, anger, and hope. Despite all the ado made by adults, it is young Sasha who must learn to be at ease in the world.

2020    88 MINS    FRANCE    IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES    MUSIC BOX FILMS

Presented with support from the R.G. Rifkind Foundation Endowment for Queer Cinema

Reviews

“A brilliantly directed documentary about a transgender child. An immersive, experiential film, a work of creative nonfiction that, above all, portrays Sasha’s experience with an ardent, dramatic attentiveness; its distinctive style seems uniquely crafted to the implications of her story.”
– Richard Brody, The New Yorker

“This is a gentle work, a welcome contrast to mass media’s hysteria around - and astonishing cruelty toward - trans children. A cinematic act of considerable kindness, toward Sasha and her family, and to the generation of trans children who she unknowingly represents. (A film) of soft, slow compassion.”
– Juliet Jacques, Sight + Sound

“A documentarian of such skill and confidence that his films feel increasingly light on their feet while at the same time gaining in depth and emotional resonance. Charming, yet heartbreaking with immense warmth and generosity.”
– Boyd van Hoeij, The Hollywood Reporter

“A lovely light-filled documentary. Stylistically unadorned and free of commentary or editorialization. (an) empathetic, un-sensationalized portrait. (The director)… forms a gentle, unforced rapport with Sasha when she’s alone on screen, plays in her own world or fixes us with an impish, quizzical glare.”
– Guy Lodge, Variety