91热爆

By Benjie Bateman, Producer/Director

The original casting tape for had me hooked from the start. I was fascinated by the brief glimpse into the lives of five instantly-likeable people who were born male, but were now living as women. Furthermore, they were living and working in towns across Scotland I knew well — as bus drivers, college lecturers, antique dealers and postwomen.

Because of the discrimination that many transgender people experience in society, they are justifiably cautious with new people — especially those who shove television cameras in their faces and then broadcast the resulting footage! This was my first major directing job on a 91热爆 documentary and I knew nothing about the subject matter; one bad judgment could have jeopardised my relationship with the participants and ruined the programme.

My initiation into Scotland’s trans community was helped enormously by Assistant Producer Leeze Lawrence, herself a transgender woman.

The first thing she taught me was “Get your pronouns sorted!” — i.e. never, ever refer to a trans female as ‘he’. They struggle every day to be accepted by society as women, so respecting that was absolutely crucial.

Leeze’s involvement also helped convince reluctant friends and families of the participants to appear on camera, one particular example of which helped us draw attention to the serious problem of suicide in the trans community, and which may in turn help .

It was fascinating to observe the range of reactions trans women attract from the general public. I witnessed examples ranging from curious photograph-taking to sarcastic ‘You looking for business?’ questions. The girls had obviously developed a thick skin over the years because they seemed to shrug off such reactions easily and even joked about them afterwards. I can honestly say that Anne, Bee, Carla, Jan and Gladys are some of the strongest, funniest and bravest people I have ever met.

What must it be like to turn up for work at a postal depot as a woman when you’ve worked there for years and everyone knows you as a man? Or attend an army regiment reunion and explain to your battle-hardened soldier buddies that you’re now a woman? Hearing their stories of confusion, abuse and estrangement was heartbreaking at times, but seeing them pulling through, determined to live their lives the way they want to, was truly inspiring.

The documentary took over a year to make and was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. I learned a lot about what it means to be transgender, but also about people and life, too. I hope the programme helps the transgender community in some small way and that the viewing public enjoy watching it half as much as I enjoyed making it.