BBC presents a GRAIN MEDIA in association with GLIMMER FILMS & THE GUARDIAN
Freddy is 30 and yearns to start a family but for him this ordinary desire comes with unique challenges. He is a gay transgender man.
Deciding to carry his own baby took years of soul searching, but nothing could prepare him for the reality of pregnancy, as both a physical experience and one that challenges society's fundamental understanding of gender, parenthood and family. He quickly realises that what to him feels pragmatic, to others feels deeply confusing and confronting; this was not part of his plan.
Against a backdrop of increasing hostility towards trans people the world over, Freddy is forced to confront his own naivety, mine unknown depths of courage and lean on every friend and family member who will stand by him.
Made with unprecedented access and collaboration over three years, the film follows Freddy from preparing to conceive right through to birth. It is an intimate, audacious and lyrical story for the cinema about conception, pregnancy, birth and what makes us who we are.
SEAHORSE is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jeanie Finlay (GAME OF THRONES: THE LAST WATCH; ORION: THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING) and produced by Andrea Cornwell (SAINT MAUD; APOSTASY), Jeanie Finlay and Oscar-winning Grain Media (THE WHITE HELMETS; VIRUNGA).
Tre’vell Anderson: OUT MAGAZINE
“Finally, other people can see who I am.”
These are the words Freddy McConnell uses in the documentary Seahorse, recounting the early moments of his transition. Though a simple declaration, the way he expresses it, and how early in the film he says it, is the only signal I needed that this 89-minute journey would be worth it.
Tre’vell Anderson
FULL ARTICLE >
Simon Hattenstone: GUARDIAN WEEKEND
“A tender – and rather wonderful – documentary about love, family, fallouts, raging hormones and the complexities of identity”
Simon Hattenstone
FULL ARTICLE >
ANOTHER MAN MAGAZINE: Hannah Clugstone
“Lightyears away from the sensationalist headlines often imposed on trans experiences.
The beginnings of an honest conversation about the trans experience of starting a family; a conversation that seeks to tackle ignorance and open up the way for many more trans men to choose to carry their own children.”
Hannah Clugstone
FULL ARTICLE >
Support our outreach campaign and enable us to bring the film to LGBTQI and NHS communities throughout the UK.
Jay Thomas, left, and his wife, Jamie Brewster, are both transgender. Thomas gave birth to the couple's son Dorian, now 2
Transgender men say they face misinformation, bias and a lack of understanding from the medical establishment when they decide to start a family.
Stonewall
Stonewall have developed a Q&A to answer some of the common questions that get asked about trans people, and to tackle some of those myths and misconceptions you might have seen in the media.
All About Trans
All About Trans have put together a list of support and community organisations in the UK that work with trans and non-binary people of all ages.
Many regional LGBTQ+ organisations across the UK offer specific support for trans people and often carry out training and awareness-raising events.
““Pushes at all assumptions about family, love, and the body.
See it! You will cry!””
““Compassionate and bracing””
““Teaches us profound truths about sex, gender identity, empathy and love”
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