An intimate take on the life of a transgender woman living in Caracas, Venezuela during the lockdown of 2021.
An intimate take on the life of a transgender woman living in Caracas, Venezuela during the lockdown of 2021. Her name: Angelica Vitanza, who won Miss World Gay 2021. Her emotional story from boy to girl. Her daily physical transformation. Her thoughts and experiences with hormone intake in a country where there is lots of discrimination, how does she survive? She lost both of her parents but she is lucky enough to have a 'father' in the community who has supported her. Through her struggles, we learn about the current situation that transgender people face in a country where they’re denied rights. We observe the place she works in, witness the performance of different Drag Queens and their attitudes to the pandemic. We also dive into her relationships with men, and her worries about her future and aspirations.
Maria Millan is a Venezuelan filmmaker based in London. She is now shadowing Series Producer Mat Chaplin and Director Sean James Grant in an Apple TV series. The scheme is run by 60-Forty Productions and Film London.
Millan is also an alumna of the Hessen Lab where she showcased her screenplay 'The Hollow Women' at the B3 Biennale in Frankfurt, Germany, in October 2022, which is now a semi-finalist of the Stowe Lab Screenwriting Fellowship in the US.
She was also part of 'Talent Led: Next Gen' by the Independent Film Trust in London for the 2022/2023 term. Her academic foundation includes a BA Honours in Communications and Media, specialising in Audio-Visual Arts from the Catholic University Andres Bello in Caracas. Furthering her skills, she studied Directing techniques at the renowned International Film School in San Antonio de Los Baños, Cuba (EICTV).
Her directorial prowess shone in the film ‘The Refuge’ featuring actresses Lujza Richter Hugo and Demi Hannah Scott. The film earned a place in the official selection of The Women’s Film Festival in Seattle and L’Etrange Film Festival in Paris. 'The Refuge’ is now on Amazon.
In October 2022, Maria premiered her 23-minute documentary ‘Trans_CCS' at the 33rd Tampa Bay International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. It also screened in GRRL HAUS cinema, BANGIFF in Thailand, Lonely Seal Film Festival in Boston, Seattle Latino, Tokyo Shorts in Japan 2023 and it will screen at ’Cine Social, La Imagen del Sur' in Spain this November 2024.
Maria recently premiered her first feature- length documentary 'Family Pride, Queer Aside’ on Pride Day 2024 within the 9th annual Feminist Border Arts Film Festival in the US.
The film was also part of the Philadelphia Latino Film Festival alongside ‘Trans_CCS’. In Europe, the documentary premiered at the Queer Film Festival Utrecht in The Netherlands in August 2024.
Tampa Bay Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival 2023
GRRL HAUS 2023
Lonely Seal Film Festival 2023
Tokyo Shorts International Film Festival 2023
Philadelphia Latino Film Festival 2023
Muu Blanco - Soundtrack
