In Orchids: My Intersex Adventure, Australian sisters Phoebe and Bonnie take viewers on a courageous journey out of isolation and shame toward empowerment, connection and honesty. Both sisters have Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS), an intersex condition where a person’s body develops externally as female despite XY chromosomes, due to the body’s resistance to masculinizing hormones (i.e. androgens). The sisters vividly describe the physical and emotional scars common to many people with various intersex conditions (or, in medical terms, Differences of Sex Development), such as the trauma of being put on medical display, surgeries about which they are deceived and warnings to keep quiet about what little they know about their own bodies.

Orchids is an educational and heartwarmingly personal story of a family working through shared trauma. This candid road movie captures Phoebe and Bonnie’s brave and vulnerable pursuit of connection, where they find strength in the power of authenticity, personal storytelling and the gift of being a special type of flower.

Preceded by

Mind

Look Who's Morphing writer Tom Cho reflects upon his experiences as a Chinese tomboy growing up in Australia who felt deeply the disappointment of his mother when he rejected dolls and pink walls in favor of Star Wars toys and Godzilla. Mind artfully incorporates archival, fantasy and interview footage to illustrate Cho's descriptions of transition as both a creative and destructive process.

— JAE SEVELIUS