Director: Tony Zosherafatain

Release Year: 2025

There Is no Known Audio Description For This Title

What Is It? That’s a great question. What is this? It first came to my attention while perusing upcoming VOD titles on the Apple Store. I like to add things to my watchlist I intend on watching. I don’t get around to all, but this seemed up my alley. when it was made available, my watchlist listed it as being on Amazon Prime video with my subscription. Great. I went to Prime video, which also had the film billed as a movie, not broken into episodes, but instead with a total runtime for the whole thing. However, the thing was edited like a TV show was intended, and IMDB has it listed as a series. It will be interesting to see where Rotten Tomatoes has it. Either way, the project is a look at four different areas, and individuals where Trump’s anti-transgender rhetoric has changed the way people in the trans community operate. From the Carolinas to Texas, to the Deep South, and the Pacific Northwest, we hop around this country and hear from those who have to deal with unnecessary bullshit on a daily basis.

What Works/What Doesn’t” It was annoying to have the director constantly introduce themselves to me, so if we’re going with the film route, some editing is needed. And, if it is episodic, we should make sure it is submitted as such, so platforms recognize it as each episode. This is not my first documentary pointing to trans awareness in 2025, and I’d be shocked if it was the last. It is such a vital importance as so many non-trans extremists try and put up walls and barriers limiting what transgender people can and can’t do. this explores a lot of those bills that have been passed.

And, talking to four red state trans individuals reminds us that these people exist, and they exist in areas (they probably should move from) all across this country. God love you for fighting to be any level of queer in the Deep South. And Trans and Latino in Texas? Girl, move. But, they often can’t, because they have jobs, roots, family and friends that keep them there. They aren’t just submitting themselves to relentless transphobia and persecution just for fun, they all have reasons. and, if we had a more purple society to being with, we’d be a lot better for it. Unfortunately, that isn’t our reality, and we seem to be seeing just how deep the chasm can go.

I watched this a few days ago, and just yesterday, I noticed that the right wing “Justic” department is looking to ban transgender people from having guns. the party that has lived and died by the second amendment, and campaigned on the right to walk around Target with an assault rifle, fought to restore rights to felons and those who have been charged with domestic abuse, look at one mass shooting from a member of the trans community, and after over 25 years of seeking common sense gun restrictions since Columbine, the Republican Party has now found its sacrificial lamb. it’s all rooted in homophobia and transphobia, and it utter nonsense. more people have been killed in this country in mass shooting by straight cisgender males than any other demographic.

But, oddly enough, no one wants to take their guns away. Trans in trumpland will preach to the choir. Red state warriors, and die hard MAGA fans will not have theirr hearts and minds changed by this. I wish I had gotten a screener of this to be able to promote this film on any level before its release, but such is life.

If i could critique and change one thing, I would have interviewed someone in a blue state. I want to know how broadly sweeping anti-trans legislation is affecting everyone, not just those in Red States. You could have even brought in a trans athlete, or a former active duty member of the military that had their status taken away, and their veterans benefits stolen. Episodically, there are more stories to tell, but there just is more to the story period. it is a lot of heavy lifting in this time, but if you are going to get the choir’s attention, we need the choir to sing together at the end.

the lack of audio description was most noticeable in one of the mothers speaking in Spanish. Most documentaries aren’t very heavy on audio description, but a proper AD track would have translated the subtitles.

Why You Might Like it: It’s tragic how many queer films we get every year, but the fraction of this already niche audience that gets audio description is pithy. that being said, if you are blind and need representation, maybe you still drink the sand at the oasis. Maybe you think the stories are worth hearing no matter what. Or maybe you’ve just had enough of this transphobic bullshit. Pick one.

Why You Might Not Like it: It’s too easy to just accuse you of being transphobic for not watching a film without audio description. I know it is a deal breaker for a lot of blind and low vision people, no matter what. Another reason, perhaps the strongest, is that as far as documentaries go, I thought Knockout Blonde and Enigma both were better films, but also posssibly less politically charged.

Final Thoughts: Someone suggested to me that this film didn’t promote itself because it didn’t want to be caught by the MAGA warriors. I think if that were true, this would have a different name. Last year, Will and Harper really went all over, and even the ladies of We’re Here challenged themselves by going to different places. I feel like this is limited by just doing four, and making them all red state stories. trans In trumpland may not be the strongest film in the arsenal this year, but we need every hit we can get to fight the ever growing transphobia plaguing this nation.

Fresh: Final Grade: 8/10