Bad Education

Original title: La mala educación (Spain, 2004)

Director: Pedro Almodovar

Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal

Genre: Drama, comedy

Plot: Juan is an aspiring actor who, pretending to be his brother Ignacio, goes to a film audition with Enrique, a film director. After the audition, Juan leaves Enrique a manuscript about the story of two schoolmates:  Ignacio and Enrique themselves, who shared their first adolescent troubles and the discovery of their homosexuality. The story tells of a Father Manolo, the headmaster of the boarding school, and his interest in Ignacio, whom he abuses. After several years, Ignacio, who meanwhile has become a transgender woman, pretends to be his own sister, and returns to take revenge on Father Manolo. The story ends when Ignacio is killed by one of Father Manolo's confrères, to free him from blackmail. On the last day of filming, Juan has not yet confessed his true identity, and Enrique receives a visit from a certain José Manuel Berenguer, the real Father Manolo. No longer a priest, Berenguer tells Enrique that Ignacio is actually dead, killed by Juan and himself. 

Notes: Presented out of competition at the 57^th Cannes Film Festival. Acknowledgement: Nastro d'argento 2005 for director of the best foreign film.

Beautiful Boxer

Original title: Beautiful Boxer (Thailand, 2003)

Director: Ekachai Uekrongtham

Cast: Asanee Suwan, Sorapong Chatree, Orn-Anong Panyawong

Genre: Biographical drama

Plot: The film, both funny and touching, is based on the true story of a famous Thai kickboxer famous in his country for his habit of entering the ring dressed and made up like a girl. The film shows all the most important stages of his life, starting from the moment when, still a teenager, he discovers he wants to transition and become a woman. 

Notes: Based on the true story of Parinya Charoenphol, known as Nong Thoom, a famous Thai transgender boxer, later also an actress and model.

Le Bleu Miraculeux

Original title: Le Bleu Miraculeux (France, Italy, 2017)

Director: Alessandra Celesia

Cast: Fabiana Matarese, Giusy Orbinato, Sue Song

Genre: Documentary

Plot: The documentary film has three protagonists: Giusy, Fabiana and Sue. Giusy is a young anthropologist confined to a wheelchair since birth, who investigates the votive practices of the faithful at the Sanctuary of Madonna dell'Arco in Naples, in front of where she lives. Fabiana, a transgender woman, is very devout to the Madonna dell'Arco. Sue, a Korean pianist, is searching for herself and the deepest sense of her art in Naples. Their lives touch each other.

Born Female

Original title: Nata Femmena (Italy, 2018)

Director: Pasquale Formicola, Elisabetta Rasicci

Cast: Enzo Moscato, Alessandro Saggiomo, Alessia Cinquegrana

Genre: Documentary

Plot: The documentary, set in Naples and surroundings, focuses on the real life of transgender persons and, in particular, on the historical figure of the femminiello, an integral part of Neapolitan culture.

Notes: The documentary film aired in July 2018 on Italian public television, RAI 3 channel.

Born Twice

Original title: Nati due volte (Italy, 2019)

Director: Pierluigi Di Lallo

Cast: Fabio Troiano, Euridice Axen, Gabriele Cirilli, Rosalinda Celentano, Lallo Circosta

Genre: Comedy

Plot: Maurizio is a transgender man who after twenty-five years of self-imposed exile in Milan is forced to return to his native village after his mother’s sudden death. The journey becomes an opportunity to unravel knots related to his escape as a teenager: everyone in Foligno knew him as Teresa, and then there is the ambiguous, unresolved issue with Giorgio, the boyfriend of the past. At first, Maurizio does not have the courage to reveal himself, setting in motion a whirlwind of misunderstandings and tragicomic situations. The meeting with Paula, a fiery champion of civil rights, will be fundamental. Will Maurizio manage to be reborn a second time?

Boy Meets Girl

Original title: Boy Meets Girl (USA, 2014)

Director: Eric Schaeffer

Cast: Michael Welch, Michelle Hendley, Robert Racco, Alexandra Turshen

Genre: Sentimental comedy, drama

Plot: Twenty-one-year-old Ricky, who is both a strong and sensitive transgender person, has a great aspiration: to be accepted at the Fashion Institute of New York. Meanwhile, she works as a waitress in a bar. Robby is her best friend and protector since they were children, and has always  been more or less consciously in love with Ricky, without ever having the courage to speak up. Ricky's life changes after meeting Francesca. They become friends. Francesca is engaged to David, a U.S. Army Marine, who becomes enraged when he learns of Francesca and Ricky's friendship. Moreover, because this friendship is turning into something more. This also awakens Robby's secret feelings.

Notes: Nominated for the GLAAD Media Awards, 2016. The GLAAD Media Awards are annual awards, since 1991, given by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, to individuals and productions in the entertainment industry, for their contributions in giving a more truthful and accurate picture of the LGBT community and the issues that affect their lives.

Boys Don't Cry

Original title: Boys Don't Cry (USA, 1999)

Director: Kimberly Peirce

Cast: Hilary Swank, Chloë Sevigny

Genre: Drama

Plot: In the early 90s, Brandon moves to a small town in Nebraska, known for its closed-mindedness and episodes of public violence. Everyone likes Brandon immediately because he is cheerful and charming, and no one notices that he is a transgender man, something he wants to keep secret. He falls in love, reciprocated, with Lana, which makes it difficult for him to dodge questions about himself and where he comes from. The situation precipitates when his true identity comes to light after being stopped by the police for reckless driving. He is arrested and sent to a women's prison; when he gets out, he finally tells Lana that he is a transgender man. She accepts him and life seems to continue, but in the strict community the story does not go unnoticed and a local group kidnaps Brandon, beats him and rapes him. Despite pressing charges, the sheriff does not intervene. Brandon and Lana love each other and decide to run away, but before they manage, Brandon is murdered, along with a friend who had tried to help them.

Notes: The plot is based on a true story: the story of Brandon Teena, a young transgender man.
In 2000, it received an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Hilary Swank), and a nomination for Best Supporting Actress (Chloë Sevigny).

Breakfast on Pluto

Original title: Breakfast on Pluto (Ireland, 2005)

Director: Neil Jordan

Cast: Cillian Murphy, Morgan Jones, Eva Birthistle, Liam Neeson

Genre: Drama

Plot: Ireland, in the 70s. Patrick Brady was born from the clandestine relationship between a Catholic priest and his housekeeper. Abandoned by his mother as a child to the tobacconist of the village, he soon reveals distinctly feminine sensitivity and attitudes. While the I.R.A. claims victims in Ireland and the specter of terrorism becomes more imminent, Patrick, now Kitten, moves to Swinging London. He is looking for his mother and a place where his desire to be a woman can finally be accepted and understood.

Notes: Based on the famous novel “Breakfast on Pluto” (P. McCabe, 1998).

Brief Story from the Green Planet

Original title: Breve historia del planeta verde (Argentina, Germany, Brazil, Spain, 2019)

Director: Santiago Loza

Cast: Romina Escobar, Paula Grinszpan, Luis Soda, Elvira Onetto

Genre: Comedy

Plot: Tania is a young transgender woman who performs in clubs, and is sad because of her beloved grandmother’s death. She rushes to her bedside, and discovers that her grandmother was secretly taking care of a curious extra-terrestrial being. Intrigued by the creature, and trying to do something nice in her grandmother’s memory, Tania decides to take it back to where it was found. Thus, she goes on a journey with her friends Daniela, a waitress in crisis with her boyfriend, and Pedro, a homosexual dancer. Theirs is a long journey, full of pitfalls and problems. It becomes a process of awareness and maturation that makes them more appreciative of the alternative paths, though necessary and brave, each of them had to face. They are like aliens in a world that has somehow rooted them around uses and customs they never felt part of or integrated to. 

Notes: The film was presented at the 2019 Berlin Film Festival in the Panorama section.