The Mar Sin Leat story was sparked by a skillful matchmaking of creatives, all keen to make a statement on restrictive gender pressures, societal expectations and unhealthy interpretations of masculinity.
We want our film to speak to a mainstream audience whilst starting an honest conversation on difficult topics that are often misrepresented by the media: gender/transgender and mental health.
Our main writer and our social media manager are both trans and bring with them a genuine queer voice.
Even though our script draws from our personal experiences, we wanted to make sure it was informed by thorough research to avoid the pitfalls of stereotypes and assumptions.
As filmmakers do, we watched films, docs & series, immersed ourselves in books and consulted with experts in the field.
We reached out to several bereavement charities, held conversations with volunteers and counsellors and spoke to those affected by grief (loss of a parent in childhood, loss of a spouse, loss of a pet). As a thank you for people’s help we donated to either our two partner charities or to a charity of the contributor’s choice.
We also approached transgender associations and the wider trans community for their input on the project.
So that our research can be easily available and helpful to others, we decided to include the below two sections on our website:
