Who am I to Feel So Free

description

Hey guys! My name is Dylan, I am a film student in the National Film School in Dublin Ireland. My last documentary was screened in GAZE International LGBT Film Festival in Ireland and also at Craic Fest, New York. I like Adventure Time and Joy Division and I also happen to be transgender.

I want to make a film about inspirational trans* people in Europe. For me the hardest part of coming out was not having anyone to look up to, that was until found Tumblr and online Trans* groups. So many people are willing to be open and honest about who they are for the good of those around them! I want to meet some of them and show the world what amazing people there are in the Trans* community!

Ireland currently has NO clear gender recognition laws. This means that I, like many other people, cannot legally change my gender marker on my birth cert. This causes many difficult situations regarding health care, marriage and education. Ireland has the worst laws in the EU on this subject, showing just how little the country cares about it's transgender citizens. This reason alone is why I left it so long to come out. I was afraid of what the general attitude to me would be, that was until I started looking online.

I found thriving trans*communities in Berlin, Brighton had it's first trans* pride march this summer, BBC3 and Channel 4 have made beautiful, inspiring documentaries and SOOO many tumblr bloggers from all over Europe from Scotland to Poland and here right here in Ireland, these people have given me and many others the courage to fight for what should be a basic human right, I want to meet some of the people who gave me courage to be me and show people who would not have any knowledge of trans* issues first hand what it's like to transition.

I need to raise €1,800. Every bit of this will go to towards the travel costs involved in making this film. I'll start here in Ireland talking to groups in Dublin and in rural areas to see how peoples perceptions to trans* issues differer from bigger cities to smaller towns. From here I want to go to Brighton and London. In these cities you can change your gender marker. I want to see what this means for trans* individuals and how this changes peoples attitudes compared to Ireland. After that I plan to go to Berlin. Berlin has a huge trans* network and also Germany is one of the few countries to grant gender recognition without sterilization. Then finish in Hungary.

As I said aboce, I've had films in festivals before so the goal of this is to show this film to as many people as I possibly can. People underestimate the importance of positive role models, I think we need to celebrate and share their stories.

Thanks for taking the time to read this page. If you don't have the money to spare, please share this page with anyone you think might be interested!

Dylan