Our dad, Danielle

I grew up next door to the Healeys, in the suburb of Sugar Land, Texas. At the time, I was secretly struggling with deep confusion around my gender identity & sexuality, until I moved away to Chicago to study comedy. I didn’t know why at the time, but the Healeys took an active interest in my life and we slowly grew closer. I even came out to them as a lesbian before telling my own parents — years before I knew Danielle hid a secret of her own. In 2017, Danielle responded in kind, coming out to me as a trans woman during a late-night phone call before her public announcement on Facebook.

Months later, Danielle contacted me to direct a comedic web series she’d written about her trans experience and she wanted her wife and daughter, Sarah, to act along with her. It quickly became clear the excellence Danielle brought to her legal career did not translate to her acting abilities. Recognizing how her story could help others, I asked the family if they’d be open to a documentary instead.

They agreed and we began production in 2018. In 2019, The John Steven Kellett Foundation awarded our film a grant, expanding the length and breadth of the project. I was able to explore more of Danielle's world and meet some of the remarkable new people in her life, including a young Honduran trans woman, Sasha, who fled her country due to horrific violence and was seeking U.S. asylum. We met one of Danielle's new friends, Jeri Ann, a trans minister and harmonica player who didn’t come out until she was 66. And we sat down with Ana Andrea Molina, the founder of Organizacion Latina de Trans en Texas, and the person responsible for introducing Danielle to Sasha for legal assistance.

This film is very personal to me and my producing partner. For us, the beauty of our little film with a big heart is in the specifics... from Danielle’s sweet walk to the melodic cadence of Jeri Ann's speech, like a Tennessee Williams play. From dissecting the symbolism of their backyard pool in Texas to Danielle casting her daughter to play a character named 'Danielle' in the film, Leaves of the Tree—an allegory for Danielle's closeted trans experience (which she wrote and bankrolled while still keeping her secret)—we wanted to immerse the audience into an honest examination of a life where we don't look to provide all the answers, instead, we invite the audience in to observe.

As a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, I endeavored to work with other underrepresented creatives. Of our core team, 100% identify as women or gender nonbinary — most of whom are from LGBTQIA+ and/or BIPOC communities. Because of our limited funds, we weren't able to license all the music we hoped for, but Leah Judge (my producing partner) being a musician herself, graciously composed some original music for the film. In fact, Leah and I wrote, and she performs, the original song for the opening credits "When You Look At Me" as the film's LGBTQIA+ anthem.

It was immensely important for me to make an honest, humorous, and ultimately uplifting film for my LGBTQIA+ community to celebrate the beauty of living authentically no matter how rocky the road is to get there. That said, today there is a horrifying abundance of anti-LGBTQIA+ bills under consideration in state legislatures across the country. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is preying on trans kids and their parents, manipulating the misinformed by stirring up fear and, therefore, hate in conservative voters. It is a critical time to not only reach Texans where our rights are under attack but other conservative voters across the country (and the world) who may not be aware of some of these LGBTQIA+ struggles and realities.

Nearly 60% of Americans don't personally know a trans person. Because of the still-limited scope of trans representation, sometimes those stories can feel out of reach, and therefore trans issues may hold no gravity for them. As a native Texan, I wanted to examine the idea of what Americana kindness can be — with familiar access points and immersive environments — so unfamiliar audiences will hopefully feel drawn into a story that may otherwise feel foreign to them. My goal with Our dad, Danielle is to introduce audiences to some remarkable trans individuals to foster empathy, effect change, and fortify protections for trans and queer individuals.

Thank you for your consideration,
S.E. King