We Exist

Director: Felicity Tillack
Release Year: 2024

For nearly two decades, Kyoto-based Australian writer, photographer, and filmmaker Felicity Tillack has been exploring Japanese culture and the nuanced layers of identity through her blog and YouTube channel, Where Next Japan. Her work often moves between the intimate and the expansive, from personal reflections to sweeping portraits of Japanese life. With her latest project, the bilingual docu-series We Exist, Tillack shifts her focus to a community whose voices are often muted or invisible in mainstream narratives: Japan’s LGBTQIA+ population.

Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr

Director: Kimberly Reed
Release Year: 2024

Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr is a short yet deeply resonant documentary by award-winning filmmaker Kimberly Reed, capturing a moment both intimately personal and politically seismic. At its center stands Montana state representative Zooey Zephyr, a transgender woman whose principled stand against anti-trans legislation in April 2023 led to her expulsion from the Montana House of Representatives. What began as a legislative clash over trans healthcare became an international symbol of courage, community, and the power of staying true to one’s identity, even under siege.

Unfightable

Director: Marc Perez
Release Year: 2024

In Unfightable (2024), Emmy-winning director Marc J. Perez trades punches for poignancy in this gripping new documentary about Alana McLaughlin, a transgender woman, former U.S. Army Special Forces sergeant, and professional MMA fighter. The film dives headfirst into the cage, but not just the physical one. This is a story of blood, courage, and visibility, where the real fight takes place far outside the ring. Alana’s journey is nothing short of a battleground. Raised in a conservative South Carolina household that forced her into conversion therapy, barred her from sports, and tried to hammer out any sign of femininity, she endured more hardship before adulthood than most do in a lifetime. But the girl they tried to erase grew into a woman who would become one of the most controversial, and inspiring, figures in combat sports today.

YouTube: Maya Henry

Show: Maya V Henry (YouTube)
Episode: "Are You Too Old to be Transgender?"
Release Year: 2024

On January 26, 2024, Maya Henry, a Canadian actress, social media content creator, and advocate for the transgender community, shared an insightful and thought-provoking video on her YouTube channel titled "Are You Too Old to Be Transgender?" This video touches on the delicate and multifaceted issue of age and transition, offering personal reflections, medical insights, and real-world advice for individuals considering transitioning later in life. As someone who began her own transition in her late teens, Maya provides a nuanced perspective, acknowledging the challenges faced by older individuals while encouraging those who feel that time may have passed them by to consider their own well-being and desires.

Miriam: Death of a Reality Star

Aired by: Channel 4
Release Year: 2024

Miriam: Death of a Reality Star, a documentary aired in 2024 on Channel 4, re-examines one of the most controversial and exploitative moments in the history of reality television. The documentary focuses on Miriam Rivera, a Mexican-American transgender model, whose participation in the 2004 British reality dating show There’s Something About Miriam sparked outrage and left a tragic mark on pop culture. As it dives into the disturbing spectacle of the show and Rivera’s personal struggles, it also explores the dark side of the entertainment industry, the exploitation of marginalized groups, and the lingering stigma surrounding transgender people.