A transgender 7-year-old banned from the girls' bathroom is one of three stories explored by a Stroud-based filmmaker in her new documentary series.

Lindsey Dryden, who also lectures at the University of Gloucestershire, has spearheaded documentary project Trans in America, which paints portraits of three transgender individuals and their struggle against discrimination in the USA.

One of the three short episodes focuses on Kimberly Shappley and her transgender daughter Kai as they try to navigate life at school.

Another follows Eisha Love, a transgender woman trying rebuild her life after being incarcerated in a men's jail, while the third tells the story of Jennifer Chavez who lost her job after telling others she is transgender.

 

The three subjects of Trans in America

Each film in the series was produced by Lindsey along with her majority-LGBTQ+ team from Little By Little Films, which is headquartered in Stroud.

"We try to tell authentic stories, often focusing on unconventional experiences of things like gender and the body," said Lindsey, whose background is in television documentaries.

"It's great being based in Stroud - it's a very peaceful and creative environment."

 

Stroud-based filmmaker Lindsey Dryden

Lindsey's first feature documentary, Lost and Sound, examined the struggle of musicians suffering from hearing loss.

All three episodes of Trans in America are available to stream online at them.us/story/aclu-film-series-transgender.