Kingdom of Your Own

Kingdom of Your Own is a narrative short film about a father coming to terms with his transgender child’s identity.

Rihan's father expresses his love for his child through prose, and he comes to the life shattering realization that he can't let his child transition. But life moves on without him and he reaches back out to Rihan after a fight. He watches as Rihan becomes the beautiful and pride filled child he had always wanted them to be.

I made this film as a meditation on my own journey with my father when I came out as transgender. I wrote the prose for this film years ago, when I came out as trans and wanted to understand my father's reaction to my transition. The poem brought my father and I so much closer, and so when we made the film, it was obvious that he would read the poem. But he told me that he was not in the same headspace as the initial poem, which ends after the fight, so I decided to make an entirely new half of the film to show our progression. This film will always mean so much to me because of how it brings to light the healing of our relationship.