50 transgender actors and filmmakers were involved with The Garden Left Behind, a feature-length film premiering at Austin's SXSW Film Festival in March.
According to a press release, the film "traces the relationship between Tina, a young, Latina, trans woman and Eliana, her grandmother, as they navigate Tina's transition and struggle to build a life for themselves as undocumented immigrants in New York City."
"It provides us with an intimate and realistic portrayal of the trans experience living in America, from activism and advocacy, to personal relationships with family, lovers and friends."
Directed by Brazilian filmmaker Flavio Alves, the film proudly boasts casting only transgender actors in all of its trans roles, Latino performers in Latino roles, and bilingual performers/native Spanish language speakers in Spanish-speaking roles "in order to more authentically capture experiences from these specific walks of life."
The groundbreaking story is making history as the first feature film to boast so many trans cast and crew members, as well as marking eBay's first ever crowd-sourced film. The production team sold over $100,000 of donated items to financially support the project.
"Representation in front and behind camera is crucially important to the future of cinema and we are honored to have been able to work with up-and-coming talent from the Trans community, from actors to producers."
The Garden Left Behind will be making its world premiere at SXSW Film Festival in the Visionary Block (reserved for risk-taking and visionary films), PRIDE learned from the film's associate producer Devin Lowe. The film will premiere between March 8 and 17 (the exact date has yet to be decided).
