Empowering Trans Storytellers of Color: Meet the Fellows of Sundance Institute’s Trans Possibilities Intensive

The Sundance Institute has announced the six talented transgender storytellers of color selected for the second edition of the Trans Possibilities Intensive set to take place from March 27-29. The event, under the leadership of Moi Santos and guidance from experienced creative advisors and Sundance Institute’s Equity, Impact, and Belonging Program, promises to be an exciting opportunity for these artists to showcase their talent.

The 2023 Sundance Film Festival witnessed a landmark year for trans-led projects, with several films winning awards. These included Kokomo City, The Stroll, Mutt, and Rest Stop. The Trans Possibilities Intensive is another platform that seeks to amplify trans voices through their stories.

Let’s meet the six fellows selected for the 2022 Trans Possibilities Intensive. Seyi Adebanjo, Rajvi Desai, Malik Ever, Nick Janaye, Jamie John, and Tee Park Jaehyung are all unique artists with different styles and creative visions.

Seyi Adebanjo’s Afromystic is a lyrical documentary that weaves animated queer and trans Òrìṣà mythology, poetry, theater, and ritual. Rajvi Desai’s Mother Wit tells the story of an ailing Black trans matriarch struggling to inculcate the values of education and survival in her community. Malik Ever’s GutBucket is about West, a 54-year-old trans man who returns home for the first time in 20 years to clean out his childhood home, where he starts to uncover his mother’s secrets.

Nick Janaye’s Dead Ringer tells the story of a trans man desperate for approval and his task of killing a shapeshifting entity that threatens the lives of attendees at his father’s destination wedding. Jamie John’s 2Spirit Water Carrier is an experimental work reflecting the Anishinaabe responsibility of carrying water and queer and trans Indigenous bodies. Finally, Tee Park Jaehyung’s Destiny in Sedona follows the lives of various lovelorn transgenders as they travel through the Arizona desert.

The Trans Possibilities Intensive is a crucial platform for these talented artists to showcase their unique stories and perspectives. We cannot wait to see their creations and hear their voices amplified.