Transgender filmmaker André Pérez shares the stories of underrepresented, brave transgender activists of color with his four-episode documentary series, America in Transition.

Premiering on LGBTQ streaming service Revry on Friday, March 29, two days in advance of International Transgender Day of Visibility, America in Transition focuses on four dynamic, diverse trans activists as they navigate life’s highs and lows and push for a more inclusive, supportive reality.





North Carolina’s Z Shane Zaldivar, a U.S. Marine discharged under “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” who finds himself and his wife under attack due to NC’s anti-trans HB2 bill; Tiommi Luckett, an HIV-undetectable black Arkansan threatened by HIV disclosure laws when she is sexually assaulted; Nina Chaubal, an Indian immigrant who co-founded the Trans Lifeline with wife Greta and endeavors to create a safe haven in the desert; and Dezjorn Gauthier, a transgender model whose mother is terminally ill.





A Virginia-raised Puerto Rican, Pérez founded the Transgender Oral History Project in 2007 and received production seed money from Sundance Institute and Arcus Foundation.

NewNowNext caught up with Pérez to talk about the series and how model/actor Chella Man and other trans media personalities are changing the landscape.

How did you find the America in Transition’s subjects?

I’ve been really active in the trans community for over 10 years. I put together people I respected from POC communities under the trans umbrella and started talking about the stories we wanted to hear more of and what kinds of identities we wanted to see represented. Then word of mouth, going into chat rooms in rural America, talking to trans folk, calling up folk I heard about through the grapevine, and pitching them the project and seeing if they wanted to be a part.

Did any fall through?

Yeah, unfortunately. The hardest episode to shoot was the immigration-related one, which ultimately featured Nina. We initially wanted to focus on undocumented folk or those with undocumented families. During the rise of Trump, the climate for immigrants has gotten increasingly hostile, so there were people who ended up backing out because they felt it was too much of a risk. So we decided to feature someone who has a green card and been granted asylum.

André Pérez

Which segment did you learn the most from?

Everyone taught me something. I think that’s why I do this. The Dezjorn episode stands out, because his mother is terminally ill and so is mine, and I think I was drawn to his story because I wanted to work through the fact I don’t have a good relationship with my mother and how it’s imperative to try and repair something before it’s too late. I also learned a lot from Nina, who is building a community in the middle of the desert and she and her partner Greta have so many incredible skills like building batteries and windmills and electricity and how to extend the internet. To learn a lot of cool aspects of creating something from nothing in a very logistical way!

Chella Man is a deaf, Jewish transgender person of color, and has been cast in the ultra-mainstream DC comic book TV series, Titans. Despite some of the trans hate in our country and Trump’s military ban, how do you feel about the growing representation in media?

We’re in an amazing moment. Part of what’s inspiring me about being a media maker is that media really changes our imagination of what the future could be. In a lot of ways, it’s really hard to envision what change looks like on the ground with big issues like racism, but when I think about how fast we can change with the media? Our role as media makers is to stimulate this imagination of an alternate world we can live in, and then we can build the bridge to get there.

To commemorate the annual day of trans visibility, what is a resource you would like transgender people to know about?

I want to encourage trans people to think about one another as resources. There are people out there who are looking to connect with you. Whether online, or via a YouTube community, or maybe an older trans woman who walks the strip and gives out condoms. There are so many trans people out there, so don’t feel alone and be open as much as you can to people reaching out to support you.

Do you foresee a second season of America in Transition?

I’d love to do another season, and I would do it totally differently given what we learned. I also think about a feature length version—the arc of these stories is long, we actually started shooting with all these people about 3 years ago, and we haven’t gotten to the end of their stories yet. 10 years after, where are they now, we’ll have a very different story to tell with these people.

So many! I would love to tell the story of Sylvia Rivera, a Puerto Rican trans woman who founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries. I’m really drawn to that time in history, because it was during the Black Panthers and all these liberation movements, and so many echoes of what could happen today. I’m excited about Lou Sullivan, a west coast trans man who started a lot of FTM support groups and was pivotal in getting homosexuality removed from the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental illnesses. And Miss Major, who already had a documentary come out about her, but I still think is one of the most inspiring leaders of our time.

