Filmmaker Statement

Trans people love horror. From ROCKY HORROR to TITANE, horror films reflect ourselves: bodies whose re/construction gives us new life even as others perceive us as monstrous. There is power in being the thing that terrifies. CHRYSALIS gives these readings of horror a new twist to examine the forces that keep trans people from re/constructing our true selves. Our protagonist is defined by isolation: from a body that should have been his, from a community that left him behind. When he gets the chance to reclaim himself and his identity, it comes at the cost of what little safety he has left - and maybe that’s a good thing. We created CHRYSALIS as an unapologetically queer story about gender transition at a time when trans people, communities, and medical services are being attacked in American state legislatures. Amid disinformation that paints our public existence as dangerous, our film shows that it's often the only way to survive.