Raising Zoey

By on July 11, 2016

Raising Zoey Trailer KCET 101515 alt open 720p from Andrew Kimery on Vimeo.

RZ1Affecting the lives of countless kids, teenagers and even adults, 13 year-old trans activist Zoey Luna wants nothing more than to simply go to school, learn, have fun with her friends in Downey, CA.  Unfortunately, ignorance and intolerance have not always made this easy.  With the help of her mother Ofelia, her older sister Leticia and the ACLU, Zoey fought school officials for her right to self-identify in school.  Even in the face of bullying and endless teasing from both school officials and students, Zoey determinedly continues to live her life as she is and tells her story in the hopes of helping others persevere in living their authentic lives.

Los Angeles Pride honored Zoey in 2013 with the Outstanding Youth Leader Award, given to a young person who has worked for the betterment of young people’s lives in regards to LGBT issues.  And in 2014, Zoey won her case, setting a precedent for other school boards to follow.

This is the heartwarming story of a family faced with the insurmountable challenges of a youth’s gender transition. Instinctively and unconditionally supporting her daughter’s journey, Ofelia reaches out to a community beyond her resources for guidance and knowledge.  “Zoey is not special because she is trans. She is special because she is my child.”

FILMMAKER COMMENTS:

As an artist who makes my living from my filmmaking, I first see/envision the importance of individuals and their stories of courage and conviction.  I, then, begin to create them, often before any organizational structure or financial assurance is in place, but with a trust that their inherent importance to the community will allow them to come into being.   This was exactly how I come upon the Barba Luna Family and their remarkable story.  Ofelia’s fight reminded me of my own mother, also a single immigrant mom who brought me to the U.S. so I can have a better life than in my native land, Peru.  Ofelia loves her children the way my mom loved me unconditionally…believing in our potential to be good people. This film is a love letter to all instinctively, loving parents who raise their non-conforming children.  Zoey and I, although generations apart, share a kinship of being the recipients of such love and parental devotion.

As a gay man, I take my “ally-ship” with the trans community seriously and respectfully through consistent grassroots work for trans organizations.  It is not an overstatement to say that those I meet and work with in the LGBTQ communities and beyond become my friends, extended family members and colleagues…and continue to be over time.  My joy in simply connecting with others on the level of a shared humanity goes beyond categories and labels.   With many more films and community contributions to come, I am energized by the daily process of community building and networking that is an integral component of my work, my play and my life.

ZOEY LUNA
Living in a working class neighborhood in Downey, CA with her mother Ofelia, her older sister, Leticia and her older brother, Javier, young trans activist Zoey Luna wanted nothing more than to simply go to school, learn, have fun with friends and be a “normal” trans kid.  As one of the youngest trans activists, Zoey, with the help of her mother and the ACLU, fought school officials for her right to self-identify at school.  They won their case in 2014, setting a precedent for other school boards to follow.  Los Angeles Pride honored Zoey in 2013 with the Outstanding Youth Leader Award, given to a young person who has worked for the betterment of trans young people’s lives in regards to LGBT issues.  She recently appeared on Laverne Cox’s MTV show “The T-Word” as well as news stories on CBS, BBC World plus countless magazine articles.  In 2015, Zoey had the privilege to Co-Grand Marshall the Los Angeles Pride.

DANTE ALENCASTRE
Dante Alencastre is a award winning documentary filmmaker and LGBT community activist, based in West Hollywood.  His filmmaking and work on the boards of Los Angeles LGBT arts organizations, political and community groups, is focused particularly on the overlapping Latino/a, Transgender and Gender non-conforming sub-tribes within the community.  Dante found his personal calling documenting the lives of LGBT individuals and communities during a trip back to his native Peru, resulting in the 2007 award-winning film “En El Fuego (In the Fire )” (LA Outfest Audience Award).  Updating the successes of this Peruvian group of trans activists 5 years later, resulted in the film “El Fuego Dentro (The Fire Inside )”.  Focusing on the personal and professional life of a transgender activist and leader, Dante’s documentary “Transvisible: Bamby Salcedo’s Story” premiered at 2013’s Outfest and toured college around the country.Dante’s two current film projects include the documentary “Nelly Queen: The Life and Times of Jose Julio Sarria” about the little-known history of LGBT pioneer Jose Sarria, the first openly gay man to run for public office in the world – in San Francisco in 1961 who also founded the charitable Imperial Court system; and “Raising Zoey” which documents Los Angeles transgender teenager, 14-year-old Zoey Luna and her Latina, highly supportive single mother, Ofelia, through their early struggles and triumphs from changing the local school district policies, to Zoey’s growing visibility and voice. Dante is also actively dedicated on the boards of arts and social service organizations like Reach LA, California LGBT Arts Alliance, Latino Institute at the LGBT Task Force’s Creating Change Conference, and the Saban Community Clinic.
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