Comprised of photographs and Virtual Reality volumetric testimonials, Made This Way: Redefining Masculinity is an interactive mixed-media documentary that explores how transgender men are challenging gender norms and redefining traditional masculinity. By exploring the photographic series, and by moving around the virtual space in which the subjects exist, Made This Way: Redefining Masculinity allows audiences to viscerally experience fluid masculinity.

Producer(s): Ana Serrano (CFC – Media Lab), Elli Raynai (Cinehackers)

A co-production of CFC Media Lab and Cinehackers, with additional support from Depthkit and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), the 18-minute experience was made by artist/photographer Irem Harnak and writer/filmmaker Elli Raynai. It blends an installation of large-scale photographic portraits with volumetric VR testimonials of: Elijah Miley, a circus performer and belly dancer training to be a firefighter and raising a family in Toronto; and Devyn Farries, a New York-based, non-binary comic book illustrator who creates comic books about the everyday lives of queer people of colour. Both the installation and VR track their relationship to masculinity, generating an artistic rendering of identity and a deeply honest, personal narrative of gender transition.

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