After a beautiful premier and Q&A session in Sarasota, Florida at the Fabulous Independent Film Festival (2023), winning best feature at East London International Film Festival (2023) and best independent film at the Vancouver International ShortFest (2024), and being nominated as a semi-finalist for the Dublin International Film Awards (2024): RE:GEN(D)ERATION had it's Toronto premiere on July 3rd in partnership with Paulina Tief’s documentary film Bittersweet Becoming, a powerful and  look into Karla Rae James' life and transition over several years! 

What is RE:GEN(D)ERATION? 

This 32 minute short film tells the story of Black trans man and artist Tyler (played by Thorne Brown) as he navigates a surprise pregnancy within a new relationship with his white boyfriend Bob. In a time of anxiety, he turns to his trans chosen family – Dan (played by Hanlon Uafás-Álainn), a newly single father of two, Gillian (played by Karla Rae James) an activist elder working overtime to cover the expenses of her transition, and a magical Phoenix, guardian of all trans people everywhere, for advice. 

Credits & Land Acknowledgement

RE:GEN(D)ERATION came to be through multiple years of listening to and understanding the real life struggles of trans people at every stage in life, namely trans artists and activists such as Under The Bus' members. The script for RE:GEN(D)ERATION was written by Hanlon Uafás-Álainn with personal anecdotes and support from Syrus Marcus Ware, Karla Rae James, Brandubh Uafás-Álainn, and Thorne Brown. It was directed by Hanlon Uafás-Álainn and Mihaly Szabados with cinematography by Kris Kaspar. The entirety of this film was shot in so-called Toronto and Stratford, Ontario. As a cast and crew of settlers and immigrants, we would like to acknowledge the traditional and ancestral territory of the Anishinaabe peoples both of these cities reside on and theongoing oppression and scrutiny from the 'Canadian government' and it's citizens this group faces. This film would not be possible without all of this and we wish to reinstate our beliefs of abolitionism, anti-racism, and uplifting minority voices through this acknowledgment.