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An Iranian-American trans man goes back in time to the LGBTQ+ archives to understand his sexuality. He confronts his past and present in an erotic journey of self-discovery. This is a documentary about gay female-to-male and female-to-masculine transgender people. It mainly deals with life after the transition, with little emphasis on the transition process itself. This also applies to those whose physical orientation is towards men. There are two main categories of subjects. One of them is Lou Sullivan, an F-to-M trans activist who was also a gay-identifying pioneer. He is represented by several excerpts from interviews he gave on television, as well as one correspondent’s writings for him. The other is a series of interviews with different transgender people with different looks and anatomy – one male subject insisted on keeping his vagina. They often have trouble finding intimate partners, although Trans Night gay baths are a big help because they don’t have to explain themselves. It is wrapped in narrative drama. A masculine trans Iranian-American (who left Iran soon after the revolution) goes to a queer archive in Chicago to do research and is befriended by a younger, boyish trans employee. The Iranian angle has been reinforced by discussions of Iran’s "omelette" food. This hybrid approach added interest and made it feel more than the dryness of a simple documentary. I saw it as part of a film festival with the cast and director. The director mentioned that the Iranian actor helped make a short "proof of concept" to ask for funding, and it went ahead with Iranian touches added to the script. The other actor was an activist in his own right, and his part was written with him in mind.
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