Reel Affirmations: The Nation's LGBT Film Festival 2008

Following twenty-six-year-old Madison during a crucial three years of her transition from male to

female, heartwarming GIRL INSIDE delves well beyond "Trans 101" basics. Sharing the spotlight is

Vivien, Madison's glamorous 80-year-old grandmother, who has taken on the job of advising her on

all things feminine. While Vivien's attempts to school Madison in old-fashioned codes of fashion

and behavior are often hilarious, their two vastly different experiences often raise profound issues about the nature of gender, femininity, and sexuality.

As Madison finds her own way into becoming a woman, this beautiful film tracks her emotional,

intellectual and spiritual journey of self-discovery that is as important as - if not more than - the

physical journey of hormones and surgery. Accompanying her on her gender metamorphosis is

Madison's rural New Brunswick family who must go through their own transformation as they

struggle to accept that they now have a daughter instead of a son, a sister instead of a brother.

Sometimes funny, sometimes painful, this sweet coming of age story is both an intimate portrait

and a thoughtful exploration of what it means to be a woman.