Joshua Caraballo's short film Being Transgressive gets its South Florida premiere Thursday night, April 30, at the Gateway Theater in Fort Lauderdale.
The 22-minute short film is part of a scientific study called The Gender Experience. The study's purpose is to identify the facts that currently exist in the workforce about individuals who identify as transgender and the roadblocks that impede their success, according to a statement.
Being Transgressive's plot involves Mac, a female to male individual, aged late 20s to early 30s who struggles at work to maintain a gender transition while questioning his identity. Then there's Jerry, the protagonist, who owns the accounting firm where Mac works.
"Jerry is a traditionalist who believes in a gender binary, where individuals are either male or female," according to Caraballo.
The film follows the progression of the clash between the two individuals.
"This becomes an important thing for the viewer — their butting heads, because as we progress through the story we see how both Mac and Jerry deal with the situations and how they both grow and transform as individuals."
Caraballo says this is the first scientific investigation of its kind that is using an E-E motion picture intervention in its study of the transgender population in the workplace.
"Entertainment-education (E-E) has been around for over 40 years, and has been scientifically shown to lessen stigma and change attitudes for the better. Our hope is that by incorporating the constructs of EE research and applying it to the plight of transgender individuals in the workplace, we will be able to show evidence of a reduction in stigma and prejudice in non-transgender individuals. The more engaging that your short film is, the more transportative — the better it is for our audience members because they will immerse themselves in that story. We are hoping that this film will change people's attitudes towards transgender people."
There is also an original soundtrack for the film by composer Jim Hughest with a quarter of the proceeds going to the Transgender Law Center. Go to transgenderlawcenter.org for more info about the organization.
But Caraballo says that his film isn't just about accepting people who identify as transgender.
"I love the way the film ends because it shows that there is hope, hope for humanity and hope for us to fall in love who we are inside and be true to who they are instead of who they think people want them to be or what they think people want them to be."
Dawn Scott of Gone By Dawn Production is executive producer of the film, Jim Hughes is musical director and composer, and Kevin Smith is director of photography.
The screening of Being Transgressive begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Gateway Thaetre, 1820 E. Sunrise Boulevard with an official after part at Il Mulino Restaurant, 1800 E. Sunrise Boulevard from 9 to 11 p.m. Special discounted drinks and a food menu for attendees of Being Transgressive. Live music by violinist Paulo Diaz www.pauloviolinist.com To find out more, go to www.minervafilms.net.
