Set in the rural Spanish countryside, Estíbaliz Urresola Solaguren’s 20,000 Species of Bees centers on a transgender eight-year-old girl who happens to be visiting family over a weekend for the occasion of a christening.
But while all others find themselves caught up in their own problems, this young girl is trying to find a way to articulate to them that she isn’t the boy they all think she is, but rather a girl named Lucía (Sofía Otero) who wants to be understood as the person she knows herself to be.
It’s uncommon indeed to see a trans coming-of-age story so acutely in-tune to the subtle realities of growing with an understanding of your differences but not being able to put such variance into words. Lucía is often sullen, bristling at the use of her deadname or the more gender-neutral nickname “Coco” often employed by her family.
She longs to be seen as Lucía, and while she may not know what the word transgender means, she knows that she’s a girl. Spending time among multiple generations of women in her family over the course of a few days helps her put this profound and essential femininity into focus.
Young Sofía Otero won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for her work. Check all the movie awards and nominations here.
Watch the trailer below:
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