Emmy-winning comedy writer and producer Harper Steele has boarded the Berlin-premiering feature documentary What Will I Become? as an executive producer.
A co-production between ITVS and Deep Dive Films in association with Storylens Pictures, the film explores the vulnerability of the transmasculine community by delving into the personal experiences of directors Lexie Bean and Logan Rozos — making their directorial debuts — while intertwining the stories of two young trans men who died by suicide.
“Homecoming king Blake Brockington and the soft-spoken Kyler Prescott were poets, musicians, and community advocates. This film traces their joys and challenges, their tragic deaths and resulting media attention, and the larger aftermath within their communities,” says a plot synopsis. “[It] also uplifts resources that affirm trans boys and the LGBTQIA2S+ community to provide an understanding of suicide-prevention practices. What Will I Become? asks why the transmasculine community is particularly vulnerable to living briefly and dying quietly.”
Executive producer Steele is best known as the former head writer on Saturday Night Live and subject of 2024 Netflix doc Will & Harper, in which she road-tripped across the U.S. with close friend Will Ferrell for the first time since transitioning. The film premiered at Sundance and became immensely successful, earning a Peabody Award, as well as BAFTA and Emmy nominations.
She told The Hollywood Reporter about the Bean and Rozos’ project: “As someone who’s been steeped in trans culture for more than a decade, this film was an education. As trans people come under increasing attack from all directions, it is essential to show the harm transphobia enacts on the community, but equally important is to show the joy they can never take away. What Will I Become? achieves both.”
Added directors Bean and Rozos: “We made this film for people who internalized feeling like a burden, people who had not seen a model for who they wanted to become, and believed the world was better off without them.”
Producer Drew Dickler of Deep Dive Films said they are “honored” to steward the vision for this film. “Nearly our entire crew is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and/or directly impacted by suicide,” Dickler continued. “This film does not sensationalize loss or flatten trans lives into tragedy. It insists on community and accountability at a moment when trans youth are being erased and abandoned by systems meant to protect them. We are proud to provide a community resource for this moment and also hope to engage people who might not think this film is for them.”
What Will I Become?, also produced by Geoff Pingree, David Sherwin and Ricki Stern, will premiere at next month’s Berlinale.
Grammy Award-winning collaborators and more will be announced in due course, including original new music written by doc protagonist Prescott and performed by a trans artist.
Watch the trailer for What Will I Become? below.
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