11 transmasc docs, dramas, and comedies you shouldn’t overlook

This story originally appeared on Them.Cinema is inherently a place that people turn to seek representation. Watching a movie by yourself can be a quiet place for self-reflection and self-exploration and watching one in a group often leads to a discussion, so movies naturally are a place people turn to for affirmation that they are not alone in their experiences. I know for certain that watching movies alone in my room as a teen was central to my process of understanding my queer identity. Though there is more known queer representation on screen than ever before, transmasculinity still goes, by and large, under portrayed and understood in television and film. Beyond sparing films that have been reclaimed by transmasc people such as She’s the Man or Juno, the transmasculine film canon isn’t exactly rife with an expansive set of stories and genres. Even with this being the case there are plenty of poignant watches available and the list is ever expanding. Transmasc may feel like a limiting term for the following constellations of films, and while the gender experiences of the people and the characters within these films may not be strictly defined as transmasc or those of trans men, they all depict stories that are resonant to the transmasculine experience. This list includes heavy-hitting documentaries, experimental cinema, dramas and fluffier feel-good films and all of them are valuable watches for those of us looking to find resonance within the transmasc canon. By Hook or By Crook (2001)In this 2001 indie film directed by Silas Howard and Harry Dodge, protagonist and trans man Shy (Howard) ventures from his home in Kansas to San Francisco in pursuit of making a quick buck through petty crime. Upon his arrival, he encounters Valentine (Dodge), a strange and effervescent person who quickly becomes a trans brother in arms of sorts, guiding Shy through the ins and outs of city living. The two quickly bond and go into business together, along with Val’s girlfrie