Trinidad - Transgender Frontier
Part intimate observational documentary and part educational essay, Trinidad acquaints viewers with three extraordinary trans women whose paths cross in an unlikely setting--the unassuming small town of Trinidad, Colorado. Located on the Santa Fe Trail, where the Rockies fade into the Great Plains, this one-time mafia-run, coal mining town is the destination of more than 6,500 transsexuals, who travel from all across the country with the same bold dream: to align their external bodies with their internal gender identities.
Dr. Marci Bowers, a "rock star" in the world of genital reassignment surgery (GRS), relocated to Trinidad in 2003 to follow in the footsteps of legendary surgeon Dr. Stanley Biber. Sabrina Marcus, an engineer and founder of the Southern Comfort Transgender Conference, and Dr. Laura Ellis, a family practitioner, are two of Marci's most fascinating patients. Sabrina and Laura have hopes of building a bed-and-breakfast recovery center for post-operative transgender patients in Trinidad, but face setback after logistical setback--and find themselves increasingly at philosophical odds with Marci. Against the backdrop of Trinidad's remarkable history of transgender surgery,Trinidad invokes the passions and gender politics of these three women as they search for their place of empowerment and belonging in the "sex change capital of the world."
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Many films dealing with transgender issues focus on "before and after" stories or the surgical aspects of the transition. While these are elements of any post-operative trans individual's history (and thus included in Trinidad), they are also the most sensational.
We feel presenting ...Read more
Many films dealing with transgender issues focus on "before and after" stories or the surgical aspects of the transition. While these are elements of any post-operative trans individual's history (and thus included in Trinidad), they are also the most sensational.
We feel presenting the women in Trinidad in their everyday lives uncover concerns and challenges everyone faces: acceptance, sense of self and the need to be who you are. We hope Trinidad helps viewers witness the significance of these women's struggles, and encourages thought about their experiences and respect for their differences. We hope viewers will see an aspect of themselves in Marci, Sabrina and Laura.
Ultimately, we hope Trinidad helps viewers see beyond surface differences to the deeper elements of who we are as individuals. As Sabrina so eloquently states, "When people look at me, I hope they think, ‘If she has the guts to be who she is, then I should have the guts to be who I am.'" The experience of making Trinidad has certainly taught us that.
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