What’s in this episode?

Today I’m launching A Still, Small Paw — a feature film project I wrote for trans and LGBTQ youth and their families in Middle America. This is a story that will save lives.

WHY THIS FILM MATTERS

It’s no secret that the last few years have been brutal for trans and LGBTQ youth. From my activism, friends, family, and film work, I’ve heard from countless young people across the country who are suffering.

This sucks. It feels like, as a culture, we’re regressing.

According to The Trevor Project’s 2024 National Mental Health Survey:

“39% of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year — including 46% of transgender and nonbinary young people.”

“90% said their well-being was negatively impacted due to recent politics.”

Politicians, from state legislatures to the president, have used these kids as a political cudgel. Trans and LGBTQ youth have been publicly bullied on the world’s largest stage. The emotional and physical toll has been devastating.

After the last election, with its loud rhetoric and cynical they/them ads, then this year’s threats from the White House and numerous lawsuits, many media outlets, nonprofits, hospitals, and universities have quietly stepped back from supporting trans and queer youth.

But these kids still need us. Maybe now more than ever.

And while it might seem contrarian to make a feature film about a subject that has become radioactive, I think it’s exactly the right time.

In college, my economics professor gave me this advice:

“When everybody runs, you walk. When everybody walks, you run.”

So today, I’m running.