Growing up with famous parents, constantly in the public eye would be hard for anyone. Now imagine that all those images people have seen of you are lies about how you actually felt. Chaz Bono grew up as Sonny and Cher’s adorable golden-haired daughter and felt trapped in a female shell. Becoming Chaz is a bracingly intimate portrait of a person in transition and the relationships that must evolve with him.

As Chaz undertakes gender reassignment, he invites us along on his journey of transformation. Along with his girlfriend, Jenny, he travels from Los Angeles to San Francisco for surgery. It’s clear that the transition is more than physical, especially for those around him. He decides to go public with his story, to put a face on a misunderstood issue. Family and friends offer frank insight in interviews, about Chaz’s past as Chastity and the present. Dealing with the press, Chaz decided to go on the offensive instead of letting reporters dig and assume. Cher tells it like it is, including her reticence about Chaz’s plan to come out loud and proud.

Intimate and nakedly honest about the nitty gritty of transition in general and Chaz’s personal experience, the film reveals the courage it takes for Chaz to embrace his true self.