Quick stats about the movie
- Director:
Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, J. Mitchel Reed - Genre:
Documentary - Year:
2015 - Duration:
21:00 - Language:
English - Province:
ON
This short documentary profiles the lives of three men of colour who have undergone gender transition from female to male.
The film explores what life is like living as a black man when no one knows you are transgender, and how each of them perceives their own journey with gender, after years of being interacted with as male.
Creative team
Directors: Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, J. Mitchel Reed
Producers: Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, Emily Jenkins
Filmmakers’ statement
When Passing began it put us both on the path to making a documentary film while simultaneously discovering a new part of ourselves as people. It’s that energy that went into the creation of this film. It’s more than just another project for us and it was certainly a one-of-a-kind experience.
It’s that type of emotion we wanted to bring to the screen for people to see and to be able to experience what we went through while making the film. This is an opportunity to meet fellow human beings and hear their stories in a way that pushes the boundaries of our understanding of gender and ourselves.
We wanted to show how these trans-men lived their lives; what they think about the day to day, who they are, what they experience and how they look at the world.
These are people you have potentially already met but had no idea who they truly were. This film is an opportunity to see their everyday world and their interactions with people in a completely different way.
[We wanted to reflect] on the ways we are all ‘passing’ on some level, within broader society.
When you watch this film and go outside, walk around and bear witness to those around you – you will not see our world the same way you did before.
Passing is a story about transition and invisibility. It illustrates a life beyond that which we have constructed and trained ourselves to see.
About Lucah Rosenberg Lee
Lucah Rosenberg Lee is a Toronto-based independent filmmaker who studied sociology and equity studies at the University of Toronto. It was this education that sparked his passion to pursue social issues in the form of documentary filmmaking.
Lucah was adopted from the Dominican Republic into a Toronto family who early on encouraged his love of filmmaking.
He explores social aspects from the many different perspectives his life has given him. Lucah’s love for film and academics go hand in hand with his passion to tell stories that will move people.
About J. Mitchell Reed
J. Mitchel Reed grew up in a home with two investigative journalists who fuelled his fire to hunt for stories and search for the truth.
Surrounded by documentary films and news stories his entire childhood and teenage years led him to pursue a degree in Ryerson’s RTA school of media program.
He graduated with honours and awards, with his feature film Emma winning the president’s award as well as best practicum, best cinematography and best single camera production in his last year. It also went on to win best actor at the Breck Film Fest in Colorado.