Browse Films

The Youth and Gender Media Project consists of two short films that capture the diversity and complexity of gender nonconforming youth. In The Family Journey, parents and siblings relate their transformations from denial to acceptance and finally to celebration around supporting and nurturing their courageous children. I’m Just Anneke tells the story of a gender fluid twelve–year–old girl who’s taking hormone blockers that delay puberty so she can decide if she wants to be male, female, or somewhere in–between, when she grows up. The Youth & Gender Media Project provides students and educators with unique tools to explore critical questions about gender identity and family acceptance, and are ideal for discussions about bullying and inclusiveness.

I’m Just Anneke (12 MIN) is a portrait of a 12-year-old girl who loves ice hockey and has a loving, close-knit family. Anneke is also a hardcore tomboy and everybody she meets assumes she’s a boy. The onset of puberty has created an identity crisis for Anneke. Does she want to be a boy or a girl when she grows up, or something in between? To give her more time to make a decision, her doctor has put her on Lupron, a hormone blocker that temporarily delays the hormones of adolescence. Despite rejection by her friends and struggles with suicidal depression, Anneke is determined to be true to herself and maintain a gender fluid identity that matches what she feels on the inside. I’m Just Anneke takes us into the heart of a new generation of children who are intuitively questioning the binary gender paradigm.

The Family Journey: Raising Gender Nonconforming Children (14 MIN) charts the emotional and intellectual transformations parents and siblings must make in order to successfully nurture their gender nonconforming family members. In frank, vulnerable interviews, families from all over the country speak about the power of love and acceptance to help their unusual children thrive. They also come to realize that loving a gender nonconforming child, in the face of ignorance—and sometimes—hostility, has turned them into more compassionate human beings.

I’m Just Anneke is winning, inspiring, and insightful.
Erin Perry
Washington City Paper
full review

Skurnik captures Anneke’s wonderful personality on film, and shows that a little parental understanding and love can really change a child’s life.
Tim Plant
Metro Weekly
full review

Recommended! Jonathan Skurnik’s two short films compiled here revolve around kids who don’t conform to conventional gender roles.
Randy Pitman
Video Librarian
full review

Highly Recommended. These short documentaries created by award-winning producer and director Jonathan Skurnik would be excellent additions to collections in transgender studies, parenting, and child development.
Sarah B. Cornell, Daniel Webster College
Educational Media Reviews Online
full review

I’m Just Anneke was the most hopeful short in the whole screening.
SheWired.com
full review

More Reviews

AWARDS & SCREENINGS:

• OutFest, LA's LGBT Film Fest, Audience Award Winner

• Media That Matters Film Festival, Change Maker Award Winner

• Sebastopol Film Festival, Critics Award Winner

• SilverDocs Film Festival

• Tokyo International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival

• The Chicago Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival