By Gardenia Zuniga
Writer
Emmy- nominated documentary filmmaker Sally Rubin got inspired by the observations in the student body that she teaches at Chapman University as she saw a change in the recent years in gender identity.
“It was 3 years ago that I started noticing students coming to me after class and sharing their preference on what they want to be identified as.” Professor Sally Rubin. “I started to see a change in young people and I wondered how young gender is a total moving target.”
Rubin entered the kids' world without preconceived ideas as she began to document children she knew and others to understand how kids identify gender.
Strategically Rubin had a diverse group with various locations, races, and genders for her interviewed kids. She cast kids that were non-binary, including a six-year-old trans child. All the children in the film were familiar with the subject and comfortable sharing their responses with the support of their parents.
The first interview was in February 2020, right before the pandemic, yet she continued to film with various sources such as Facetime, Zoom, etc., to continue the production.
“The world is changing. The train has left the station, and we need to get one of them. We need to let kids explore their own gender identity. This will open doors for kids and empower them in the world that we live in”, said Sally Rubin as she shared some advice to parents who have not been open to the gender identity discussion with their children.
The film has been on the film circuit for a few months now, with more than 10 Official Selection Awards. It premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival, and it is on its way to many more festivals across the nation.
“This is a film that needs to be presented in grade school for kids to understand the changes of others with gender identity”,- Gardenia Zuniga, film critic for Gardenia Zuniga & Associates.
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