Imagine a child in a picturesque village, intertwining the lives of numerous adults.
This is the premise for Limina, a short film about a gender-fluid child, Alessandra, whose innocence and charm help capture little bits and pieces of the lives in the surrounding neighbourhood.
On June 4th, the filmmakers of Limina, Florian Halbedl and Joshua M. Ferguson, held a private event at UBC’s Chan Centre to screen the film for its cast, crew, and supporters.
“Limina’s positive representation of a trans child, played brilliantly by our star, Ameko Eks Mass Carroll, will play a small part in countering panic, hate, and misunderstanding about trans people,” said Ferguson during a speech at the event.
One of Limina’s main purposes is to recognize that trans people deserve equal respect and representation as non-trans people. The film provides a voice for the trans community, who are often misrepresented in media and society. During their speech the filmmakers also acknowledged the importance of independent filmmaking, which frequently helps provide voices to those who wish or need to be better represented in society.
Limina was funded through the efforts of many sponsors, including over 300 crowd-funders from three separate crowdfunding campaigns. Despite the support, the production process was also filled with obstacles, including extremist anti-trans backlash, which the Ubyssey had covered when petitions started to emerge against the making of the film.
“We overcame these obstacles in large part thanks to an amazing team of creative and technical individuals from preproduction through to postproduction. Filmmaking is an incredible collaborative effort,” the filmmakers said.
The effort behind Limina produced a film filled with stunning cinematography, authentic acting, and a general feeling of innocence and magic. The story is simple and sincere; fragmented so the audience gets fleeting glimpses of fantastic but relatable characters. This private screening allowed the filmmakers and their supporters to come together, creating a community and conversational space that made the film all the more human and tangible.
“Ultimately, though, we feel proud that the heart of the story remains in the film and hope it touches audiences worldwide as they experience a magical tale of kindness and compassion through the eyes of our curious genderfluid protagonist.”