Tuesday, March 1, at 7PM,  a free and open program at our space on Union Ave with the 2019 acclaimed feature BORN TO BE! 

Called, “a brave, revelatory, and beautifully realized film, it is easily one of the year’s best and most important documentaries.” by Godfrey Cheshire, on RogerEbert.com, it closely follows the work of Dr. Jess Ting (he/him) at the groundbreaking Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery.  There, for the first time ever in New York City, transgender and gender non-binary people have access to quality gender-affirming care. With extraordinary access, BORN TO BE offers an intimate and poly-vocal look at how one doctor’s work impacts the lives of his patients as well as how his journey from renowned plastic surgeon to pioneering gender-affirming specialist has led to his own transformation. Giving voice to those who refuse to conform to gender norms and stereotypes, The film addresses the nuances and complexities of gender, exploring key issues around the human right to define gender for oneself.

Through the transitions of Dr. Ting’s patients, we witness the joys and torments that come with this brand-new territory—even as we see the limitations of Dr. Ting’s renowned surgical skills, and his commitment to his new field being tested.

We’re delighted that director Tania Cypriano will be in attendance for the program for a conversation following the film. Attendance is free, but requires RSVP below. Proof of vaccination is necessary for entry.

Tânia Cypriano has been working between the United States and her native Brazil for over thirty years. Her films and videos have won international awards including Best Documentary at the Joseph Papp’s Festival Latino in New York, the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, and Fespaco in Burkina Faso. They have also been shown around the world in places such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Hong Kong Arts Center, the Jerusalem Film Festival, the Amsterdam Documentary Film Festival, and the Berlin International Film Festival. Her television credits include working on documentaries for PBS, the History Channel, NHK in Japan, GNT in Brazil and Channel 4 in England. Tânia Cypriano has also been a grant recipient of the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Soros Documentary Fund, the Jerome Foundation, Experimental Television, and the National Latino Communication Center. She has served in productions for Bill Moyers, Martin Scorsese, Kent Jones and Nelson Pereira dos Santos. She has also co-organized film series with MoMA, the Anthology Film Archives, Exit Art, the Museum of Image and Sound in São Paulo, and the Grazer Kunstverein in Austria.