'This Is Not Me' follows the struggles of Saman and Shervin as they navigate life as trans people in Iran
Saman in a scene from the documentary 'This Is Not Me'Saeed Gholipour's documentary"This Is Not Me" raises the curtain on something that had been invisible to most in the West: transgender people living in Iran.
Iran is the only Muslim country in the region that legally recognizes trans people, something that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini actually had been supporting since the 1970s. Following visits with trailblazing trans activist Maryam Khatoon Molkara, trans people were granted religious permission to change genders and even have the Iranian government pay for surgeries. That said, the road to self-actualization for Iranian trans people is still hard.
It is physically painful to watch Saman and Shervin dress in head scarves and feminine clothes The light literally dies in their eyes throughout the process, and they say to the camera many times that, hopefully, this will be the last time. “I was upset and frustrated, but when I think about it, I see I should accept it,” he says in footage from an appearance on Iranian television. “I’m just the father, not the owner of the mind and soul.”
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