What’s the T? by out filmmaker Cecilio Asuncion explores the lives of five transgender women as they fight to make their marks on the world. These are the riveting stories of courageous young adults facing adversity head-on in order to achieve their life dreams on their own terms. They are Armani, a nurse at a rehab facility who competes nights in the underground ballroom scene; Vi, a pre-med student; Mia, a former homeless teen elected to a post on the San Francisco Youth Commission and now working toward a career in politics; the boldly independent Nya; and Cassandra, a stage performer with sites to conquer the world. Film production began in 2011 with filmmaker Cecilio Asuncion, who also stars in the film, following the young women for over a year. What’s the T? is currently playing select film festivals throughout the world.
“I first conceived the idea for What’s the T? while watching Anderson Cooper’s daytime television talk show, Anderson Live,” recalls Cecilio Asuncion. The show featured Danann, an eight-year-old classified as gender disordered. The diagnosis came as a relief to the child’s parents, after previous doctors had incorrectly labeled Danann with bipolar disorder, ADHD and dyslexia. “I was aware that several documentaries had already been made on transgender women,” says Asuncion, “but they mostly focused on the transition phase and ended with the gender reaffirmation surgery. None covered what happened after. It got me to thinking, “What's the T?”.
Asuncion wanted to show Danann, and youth like her, that the world is full of possibility for them and that big dreams are attainable. The first challenge came with selecting the best subjects for his film. “I met a number of transgender women who were all leading such wonderful lives,” he recalls. “It was difficult to choose among them.”
Cassandra Cass, Nya Ampon, Rakash Armani, Vi Le, and Mia Tu Mutch made the final cut because each could be a positive role model for Danann. The women all debunk the commonly held myth that few options in life are open to trans women as we see them navigating diverse fields including entertainment, politics and even medicine.
Asuncion is quick to point out that the film is not a research project. “One person scolded me on Facebook saying I am not Jane Goodall and trans women are not my gorillas.”
“People are allowed their presumptions,” he says, “but my intention for the film was never to paint a general picture of all the world’s trans women. It is simply to present the lives of five individuals. As a first time film maker, I am very grateful that the ladies all trusted my vision and allowed me to tell their stories.”
Audiences have been responding to Armani’s comical candidness and Cassandra's tenacity. Nya's conviction that “being fish” – a term used to define one’s pass-ability as a woman – is not important has been resonating with trans audiences while others enjoy Vi’s raw story telling.
“I could not have picked a better set of women to go on this journey with,” says Asuncion.
And what a journey it is. What’s the T? depicts transitioning as a different experience for everyone. Some opt to simply grow out their hair or alter their wardrobe as part of their transition. Others choose hormone therapy.
The women also face hurdles. We witness just how challenging it can be for some transgender women to find their footing into adulthood. They encounter pervasive discrimination in the workplace as many employers view them incorrectly as psychologically unstable.
And love is hard to find because some must first learn to love themselves.
Even Vi, the young med student who seems to have it all together, opens up in the film on how she considered suicide following her parent’s refusal to accept her decision to transition. It reminds us that more than 50% of transgender youth will make at least one attempt at committing suicide before they are twenty years old. Vi was lucky. She had a little brother who accepted and loved her for who she was and pleaded with her to not take her life. Eventually, her parents would come around, too. In fact, after the San Francisco showing of the film, Vi's mother approached Asuncion and thanked him for creating What’s the T?, even expressing how proud she is of her daughter today.
The family unit is important to most in the trans community. Many find additional family or in some cases, a substitute family with other trans women.
Asuncion wishes more would find family within the entire LGBT community. “As a gay man, I am part of the LGBT community, but it’s amazing to me how even we within the community barely know anything about each other. Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender all stay within their own circles and rarely interact with one another,” he says.
Filming What’s The T? was a personal journey for Asuncion as he immersed himself in the transgender community by going to events, bars, restaurants and organizations that specifically catered to them.
Asuncion believes that in order for the LGBT community to win acceptance from mainstream, all within the LGBT umbrella must aid one another. “It’s important to go out there and develop friendships with other members of the LGBT community that are different from ourselves. People will be surprised what they learn about others and about themselves.
“Doing a documentary on transgender women, I know that I have changed as a person. I’m inspired by these incredibly resilient women.”
In the end, viewers learn that everyone’s T is different. “My T is to tell,” proclaims Asuncion. “As a filmmaker, I aim to tell stories that will inspire all to be the best they can be.”
Asuncion is currently developing his second full-length documentary called Rice Queen, which will be in production by next year. As the proposed title suggests, it will explore gay Asian men and the men who love them.
Visit Whatsthetfilm.com
show less
“I first conceived the idea for What’s the T? while watching Anderson Cooper’s daytime television talk show, Anderson Live,” recalls Cecilio Asuncion. The show featured Danann, an eight-year-old classified as gender disordered. The diagnosis came as a relief to the child’s parents, after previous doctors had incorrectly labeled Danann with bipolar disorder, ADHD and dyslexia. “I was aware that several documentaries had already been made on transgender women,” says Asuncion, “but they mostly focused on the transition phase and ended with the gender reaffirmation surgery. None covered what happened after. It got me to thinking, “What's the T?”.
Asuncion wanted to show Danann, and youth like her, that the world is full of possibility for them and that big dreams are attainable. The first challenge came with selecting the best subjects for his film. “I met a number of transgender women who were all leading such wonderful lives,” he recalls. “It was difficult to choose among them.”
Cassandra Cass, Nya Ampon, Rakash Armani, Vi Le, and Mia Tu Mutch made the final cut because each could be a positive role model for Danann. The women all debunk the commonly held myth that few options in life are open to trans women as we see them navigating diverse fields including entertainment, politics and even medicine.
Asuncion is quick to point out that the film is not a research project. “One person scolded me on Facebook saying I am not Jane Goodall and trans women are not my gorillas.”
“People are allowed their presumptions,” he says, “but my intention for the film was never to paint a general picture of all the world’s trans women. It is simply to present the lives of five individuals. As a first time film maker, I am very grateful that the ladies all trusted my vision and allowed me to tell their stories.”
Audiences have been responding to Armani’s comical candidness and Cassandra's tenacity. Nya's conviction that “being fish” – a term used to define one’s pass-ability as a woman – is not important has been resonating with trans audiences while others enjoy Vi’s raw story telling.
“I could not have picked a better set of women to go on this journey with,” says Asuncion.
And what a journey it is. What’s the T? depicts transitioning as a different experience for everyone. Some opt to simply grow out their hair or alter their wardrobe as part of their transition. Others choose hormone therapy.
The women also face hurdles. We witness just how challenging it can be for some transgender women to find their footing into adulthood. They encounter pervasive discrimination in the workplace as many employers view them incorrectly as psychologically unstable.
And love is hard to find because some must first learn to love themselves.
Even Vi, the young med student who seems to have it all together, opens up in the film on how she considered suicide following her parent’s refusal to accept her decision to transition. It reminds us that more than 50% of transgender youth will make at least one attempt at committing suicide before they are twenty years old. Vi was lucky. She had a little brother who accepted and loved her for who she was and pleaded with her to not take her life. Eventually, her parents would come around, too. In fact, after the San Francisco showing of the film, Vi's mother approached Asuncion and thanked him for creating What’s the T?, even expressing how proud she is of her daughter today.
The family unit is important to most in the trans community. Many find additional family or in some cases, a substitute family with other trans women.
Asuncion wishes more would find family within the entire LGBT community. “As a gay man, I am part of the LGBT community, but it’s amazing to me how even we within the community barely know anything about each other. Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender all stay within their own circles and rarely interact with one another,” he says.
Filming What’s The T? was a personal journey for Asuncion as he immersed himself in the transgender community by going to events, bars, restaurants and organizations that specifically catered to them.
Asuncion believes that in order for the LGBT community to win acceptance from mainstream, all within the LGBT umbrella must aid one another. “It’s important to go out there and develop friendships with other members of the LGBT community that are different from ourselves. People will be surprised what they learn about others and about themselves.
“Doing a documentary on transgender women, I know that I have changed as a person. I’m inspired by these incredibly resilient women.”
In the end, viewers learn that everyone’s T is different. “My T is to tell,” proclaims Asuncion. “As a filmmaker, I aim to tell stories that will inspire all to be the best they can be.”
Asuncion is currently developing his second full-length documentary called Rice Queen, which will be in production by next year. As the proposed title suggests, it will explore gay Asian men and the men who love them.
Visit Whatsthetfilm.com
What’s the T? by out filmmaker Cecilio Asuncion explores the lives of five transgender women as they fight to make their marks on the world. These are the riveting stories of courageous young adults facing adversity head-on in order to achieve their life dreams on their own terms. They are Armani, a nurse at a rehab facility who competes nights in the underground ballroom scene; Vi, a pre-med student; Mia, a former homeless teen elected to a post on the San Francisco Youth Commission and now working toward a career in politics; the boldly independent Nya; and Cassandra, a stage performer with sites to conquer the world. Film production began in 2011 with filmmaker Cecilio Asuncion, who also stars in the film, following the young women for over a year. What’s the T? is currently playing select film festivals throughout the world.
“I first conceived the idea for What’s the T? while watching Anderson Cooper’s daytime television talk show, Anderson Live,” recalls Cecilio Asuncion. The show featured Danann, an eight-year-old classified as gender disordered. The diagnosis came as a relief to the child’s parents, after previous doctors had incorrectly labeled Danann with bipolar disorder, ADHD and dyslexia. “I was aware that several documentaries had already been made on transgender women,” says Asuncion, “but they mostly focused on the transition phase and ended with the gender reaffirmation surgery. None covered what happened after. It got me to thinking, “What's the T?”.
Asuncion wanted to show Danann, and youth like her, that the world is full of possibility for them and that big dreams are attainable. The first challenge came with selecting the best subjects for his film. “I met a number of transgender women who were all leading such wonderful lives,” he recalls. “It was difficult to choose among them.”
Cassandra Cass, Nya Ampon, Rakash Armani, Vi Le, and Mia Tu Mutch made the final cut because each could be a positive role model for Danann. The women all debunk the commonly held myth that few options in life are open to trans women as we see them navigating diverse fields including entertainment, politics and even medicine.
Asuncion is quick to point out that the film is not a research project. “One person scolded me on Facebook saying I am not Jane Goodall and trans women are not my gorillas.”
“People are allowed their presumptions,” he says, “but my intention for the film was never to paint a general picture of all the world’s trans women. It is simply to present the lives of five individuals. As a first time film maker, I am very grateful that the ladies all trusted my vision and allowed me to tell their stories.”
Audiences have been responding to Armani’s comical candidness and Cassandra's tenacity. Nya's conviction that “being fish” – a term used to define one’s pass-ability as a woman – is not important has been resonating with trans audiences while others enjoy Vi’s raw story telling.
“I could not have picked a better set of women to go on this journey with,” says Asuncion.
And what a journey it is. What’s the T? depicts transitioning as a different experience for everyone. Some opt to simply grow out their hair or alter their wardrobe as part of their transition. Others choose hormone therapy.
The women also face hurdles. We witness just how challenging it can be for some transgender women to find their footing into adulthood. They encounter pervasive discrimination in the workplace as many employers view them incorrectly as psychologically unstable.
And love is hard to find because some must first learn to love themselves.
Even Vi, the young med student who seems to have it all together, opens up in the film on how she considered suicide following her parent’s refusal to accept her decision to transition. It reminds us that more than 50% of transgender youth will make at least one attempt at committing suicide before they are twenty years old. Vi was lucky. She had a little brother who accepted and loved her for who she was and pleaded with her to not take her life. Eventually, her parents would come around, too. In fact, after the San Francisco showing of the film, Vi's mother approached Asuncion and thanked him for creating What’s the T?, even expressing how proud she is of her daughter today.
The family unit is important to most in the trans community. Many find additional family or in some cases, a substitute family with other trans women.
Asuncion wishes more would find family within the entire LGBT community. “As a gay man, I am part of the LGBT community, but it’s amazing to me how even we within the community barely know anything about each other. Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender all stay within their own circles and rarely interact with one another,” he says.
Filming What’s The T? was a personal journey for Asuncion as he immersed himself in the transgender community by going to events, bars, restaurants and organizations that specifically catered to them.
Asuncion believes that in order for the LGBT community to win acceptance from mainstream, all within the LGBT umbrella must aid one another. “It’s important to go out there and develop friendships with other members of the LGBT community that are different from ourselves. People will be surprised what they learn about others and about themselves.
“Doing a documentary on transgender women, I know that I have changed as a person. I’m inspired by these incredibly resilient women.”
In the end, viewers learn that everyone’s T is different. “My T is to tell,” proclaims Asuncion. “As a filmmaker, I aim to tell stories that will inspire all to be the best they can be.”
Asuncion is currently developing his second full-length documentary called Rice Queen, which will be in production by next year. As the proposed title suggests, it will explore gay Asian men and the men who love them.
Visit Whatsthetfilm.com
read more
“I first conceived the idea for What’s the T? while watching Anderson Cooper’s daytime television talk show, Anderson Live,” recalls Cecilio Asuncion. The show featured Danann, an eight-year-old classified as gender disordered. The diagnosis came as a relief to the child’s parents, after previous doctors had incorrectly labeled Danann with bipolar disorder, ADHD and dyslexia. “I was aware that several documentaries had already been made on transgender women,” says Asuncion, “but they mostly focused on the transition phase and ended with the gender reaffirmation surgery. None covered what happened after. It got me to thinking, “What's the T?”.
Asuncion wanted to show Danann, and youth like her, that the world is full of possibility for them and that big dreams are attainable. The first challenge came with selecting the best subjects for his film. “I met a number of transgender women who were all leading such wonderful lives,” he recalls. “It was difficult to choose among them.”
Cassandra Cass, Nya Ampon, Rakash Armani, Vi Le, and Mia Tu Mutch made the final cut because each could be a positive role model for Danann. The women all debunk the commonly held myth that few options in life are open to trans women as we see them navigating diverse fields including entertainment, politics and even medicine.
Asuncion is quick to point out that the film is not a research project. “One person scolded me on Facebook saying I am not Jane Goodall and trans women are not my gorillas.”
“People are allowed their presumptions,” he says, “but my intention for the film was never to paint a general picture of all the world’s trans women. It is simply to present the lives of five individuals. As a first time film maker, I am very grateful that the ladies all trusted my vision and allowed me to tell their stories.”
Audiences have been responding to Armani’s comical candidness and Cassandra's tenacity. Nya's conviction that “being fish” – a term used to define one’s pass-ability as a woman – is not important has been resonating with trans audiences while others enjoy Vi’s raw story telling.
“I could not have picked a better set of women to go on this journey with,” says Asuncion.
And what a journey it is. What’s the T? depicts transitioning as a different experience for everyone. Some opt to simply grow out their hair or alter their wardrobe as part of their transition. Others choose hormone therapy.
The women also face hurdles. We witness just how challenging it can be for some transgender women to find their footing into adulthood. They encounter pervasive discrimination in the workplace as many employers view them incorrectly as psychologically unstable.
And love is hard to find because some must first learn to love themselves.
Even Vi, the young med student who seems to have it all together, opens up in the film on how she considered suicide following her parent’s refusal to accept her decision to transition. It reminds us that more than 50% of transgender youth will make at least one attempt at committing suicide before they are twenty years old. Vi was lucky. She had a little brother who accepted and loved her for who she was and pleaded with her to not take her life. Eventually, her parents would come around, too. In fact, after the San Francisco showing of the film, Vi's mother approached Asuncion and thanked him for creating What’s the T?, even expressing how proud she is of her daughter today.
The family unit is important to most in the trans community. Many find additional family or in some cases, a substitute family with other trans women.
Asuncion wishes more would find family within the entire LGBT community. “As a gay man, I am part of the LGBT community, but it’s amazing to me how even we within the community barely know anything about each other. Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender all stay within their own circles and rarely interact with one another,” he says.
Filming What’s The T? was a personal journey for Asuncion as he immersed himself in the transgender community by going to events, bars, restaurants and organizations that specifically catered to them.
Asuncion believes that in order for the LGBT community to win acceptance from mainstream, all within the LGBT umbrella must aid one another. “It’s important to go out there and develop friendships with other members of the LGBT community that are different from ourselves. People will be surprised what they learn about others and about themselves.
“Doing a documentary on transgender women, I know that I have changed as a person. I’m inspired by these incredibly resilient women.”
In the end, viewers learn that everyone’s T is different. “My T is to tell,” proclaims Asuncion. “As a filmmaker, I aim to tell stories that will inspire all to be the best they can be.”
Asuncion is currently developing his second full-length documentary called Rice Queen, which will be in production by next year. As the proposed title suggests, it will explore gay Asian men and the men who love them.
Visit Whatsthetfilm.com
show less
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