The 2022 SFFFILM Festival features an incredible lineup of must-see films and shorts. One must-see (no matter what age) is the short film documentary Mama Has Mustache. This short, fully animated documentary is directed by Sally Rubin, who cleverly brings the topic of gender and family to the forefront but the twist? We’re seeing it through children’s eyes. 

How does that work? In just 10-minutes, we listen in on audio interviews of kids ages 5-10 as they share their experiences in a world outside the traditional gender binary. 

This incredibly timely documentary uniquely approaches the highly controversial conversation within the legislation. Our country is continuously harming progress around gender and identity, denying people the right to be who they genuinely want to be. 

On Mama Has a Mustache’s website, director Sally Rubin shares the following statement: “As a gender-nonconforming documentary filmmaker and parent myself, this film is highly personal to me. The film is rooted in my personal experience and community, many of the kids in the film are friends of my seven-year-old daughter, some are the children of friends of mine, and others are folks around the country who I connected with online.”

Mama Has a Mustache is a short film I wish I had as a kid

There was nothing short of inspiring to hear hilarious but truthful responses to questions. With unhindered confidence, each kid answered questions like, “Can you be a girl and have a boy body or vice versa?” or “Do you feel lucky that you have a transgender dad?” There were non-stop smiles watching this the whole way through, with some tears shed at the end.

This short film brings so much value to anyone, especially if they want to embrace their authentic selves. This is genuinely something hopeful to watch in a time where the conversations regarding the injustices of gender and human rights are at an all-time high in our country. This gave me hope but also triggered my anger towards our government as they continue to attempt to deny these types of conversations from ever happening in the future.

Mama Has a Mustache is screening all throughout the country. Check out their website for more updates on how you can watch it soon. 

–––––

Photo courtesy of SFFILM.