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Humboldt Filmmaker Needs $2K To Finish Documentary On Transgender Issues

 Dezjorn is featured in the second episode of
Dezjorn is featured in the second episode of "America in Transition."
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Provided/America in Transition

DOWNTOWN — A Humboldt Park filmmaker is raising money to finish a documentary series that explores the issues faced by trans people of color throughout the United States.

Director Andre Perez began work on the series, "America in Transition," about two years ago and started releasing episodes this year. Screenings of the episodes have attracted hundreds and the creators have received an "amazing response," Perez said, but he fears he won't be able to finish the series' first season if his project doesn't raise enough money on Kickstarter by Thursday.

Perez is using the online fundraising campaign to raise $15,000 needed to finish the final three episodes of the series' first season and host screenings. The campaign has raised more than $13,000 but needs to get about $1,500 more by 9 p.m. Thursday for Perez to meet his goal and get the funds.

"It's important because if we don't meet our goal then we're not [going to] be able to finish," Perez said. He hopes the series can "forge new ground in terms of understanding and building momentum for people to join the fight for trans liberation."

The series' episodes each focus on a different person and the intersectional issues they face: A model who is a trans man and a person of color struggles to gain his family's acceptance while dealing with race and social transitioning in one episode; in another, a Marine who is a trans man is forced out of the military under the now-defunct Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy and he becomes an activist.

"I've realized so many trans people feel like we have to give up who we are, where we came from," said Perez, who said he struggled as a trans man who was Puerto Rican and raised in the South. "It really drove home to me that we need more culturally reflective representations so that way people feel like they're allowed to be Puerto Rican and trans, they're allowed to be Christian and trans."

The three episodes that Perez is raising the money to finish will focus on trans refugees, living as an undocumented trans person and two-spirit identity.

It is "such an important time" to discuss immigration with the episodes because many trans community members are facing deportation, Perez said. And the series, which is created by an all-trans team who are largely people of color, can highlight other social issues and "create a space" where young trans people can see things and people they'd never imagined, he said.

Perez hopes to have all six of the season's episodes available online in November — when the organizers will launch a national tour — while continuing to host screening events. He's been able to debut an episode from the series about every two months in Chicago, and he's working with an immigration organization to host a September screening in the city.

Supporters can donate to the campaign online, Perez said, and the filmmakers are looking for a producer. More information on that position is available on the series' website.