Blending realism with fantasy, WITH TIME follows a group of trans people - all 50 and older - through a storytelling workshop resulting in scripted scenes, shaped by an open-ended prompt to explore big and small moments of trans euphoria, connection, and mutual recognition.
WITH TIME follows a group of trans people aged fifty and older as they take part in a five-day storytelling workshop. Using an open-ended prompt, the workshop invites participants to explore moments of trans euphoria, connection, and mutual recognition—both big and small. The experience culminates in the creation and presentation of collaboratively directed scripted scenes. Through this process, the film offers a rich and nuanced portrayal of trans community.
The workshop begins with a personal exercise: revisiting an important photograph from each participant’s past. This reflective starting point lays the foundation for brainstorming sessions and discussions in which participants craft original scripts inspired by pivotal moments of participants’ understanding of gender and queerness. As the sessions progress, the group grapples with the complexities of revisiting, altering, and reimagining these memories.
The workshop culminates in a public screening featuring the participants’ collaboratively directed scenes. These scenes interweave with behind-the-scenes footage that captures the creative process, from casting to production design. By reconstructing these pivotal memories, WITH TIME creates a rich visual narrative that blurs the boundaries between reality and performance, highlighting the interplay between lived experience and artistic representation.
Ultimately, WITH TIME is the making of a collaborative archive; honoring the past while envisioning a dynamic future of trans communities. Blending rehearsal, performance, and candid reflection, the film stands as a testament to the transformative power of art-making in forging connections and fostering recognition.
Brit Fryer is an artist and filmmaker from Chicago's South Side, currently based in Brooklyn, NY, whose unique approach to nonfiction storytelling centers on gender and queerness through process-forward and collaborative methods. His most recent film, THE SCRIPT, co-directed with Noah Schamus, unpacks the boundaries of language and the role of performance in shaping an expansive and gender-expansive healthcare system. The film was shortlisted for the 2023 IDA Awards and won the Creative Activism Award at the 2024 SIMA Awards. It is distributed on The Criterion Channel and The New Yorker.
He is also the director of CARO COMES OUT, which premiered on HBO Max after winning the Knight Made in MIA Award at the Miami International Film Festival. His other films include ACROSS, BEYOND AND OVER and TRANS·IENCE.
His films have been screened in theatres and festivals internationally, including Blackstar, CPH: DOX, Newfest, and MIX NYC. He has received generous support from Sundance, the Gotham, and Points North.
Jerome Foundation New York City Film 2024 - Video and Digital Production Grant
NYSCA Support for Artist Grant 2024
Ford Foundation JustFilms Grant 2024
Noah Schamus - Co-Director
Jesse Miller - Producer
Kelli Dunham - Participant
Pete Quandt - Director of Photography
