What Will I Become? Explores Transmasculine Stories at the Berlin Film Festival
EXCLUSIVE: A new study published in the medical journal Pediatrics reveals that more than half of trans male adolescents have attempted suicide. This alarming statistic serves as a foundation for the documentary What Will I Become?, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival’s Generation 14plus competition.
Directed by Lexie Bean and Logan Rozos, the film is described as “a haunting coming-of-age documentary tracing transmasculine grief, vulnerability, and survival,” all set against the backdrop of increasing political division in the United States. It aims to highlight the strength of shared humanity.
The documentary focuses on the tragic stories of two transmasculine individuals who died by suicide: Blake Brockington, 18, from Charleston, SC, and Kyler Prescott, 14, from Vista, CA. Bean and Rozos, both transmasculine individuals themselves who have survived suicide attempts, bring an intimate understanding of the societal pressures that can lead young trans boys to contemplate self-harm.
“This film is a gift to the versions of ourselves who came out and didn’t see a way forward,” Bean and Rozos stated. “This is a film for those who didn’t know how or where to give voice to their experiences, and who have been failed by systems that at once degrade their sense of safety and mental health and pathologize them.”
What Will I Become? is a co-production of ITVS and Deep Dive Films, in association with StoryLens Pictures. Emmy-winning producer Harper Steele, known for her appearance in the Oscar-shortlisted documentary Will & Harper, serves as an executive producer.
Although originally not intended to appear on screen, Bean and Rozos decided to include themselves as on-camera guides. “After a lot of conversations, we realized we should be in it because if we’re talking about trans suicide, we need to see living trans people too,” Bean mentioned during a Q&A session at the festival. She added, “In the process of making the film, we had quite a bit of pressure to make the ending hopeful in a particular way or to give people answers for what to do next. And I think ultimately by us being in it, that is inherently hopeful that people do survive.”
Throughout the film, Bean and Rozos interact within a fort-like structure created by their producer David Sherwin. This space serves as a childlike and protective environment for intimate conversations. “It felt a little bit more protected from the outside world than scenes that take place outside,” Rozos explained.
In addition to Sherwin, the film’s production team includes Drew Dickler, Ricki Stern, and Geoff Pingree, with executive producers Harper Steele, Patrick Stump, Carrie Lozano, and Lois Vossen. Cinematography is handled by Fletcher Wolfe, while editing is done by Miles Château Hill. The score was composed by Perigee Vitz-Wong, with evocative animation by Daniel Lobb and Juan Pablo Rozo.
What Will I Become? will screen again on Sunday at the Filmtheater am Friedrichshain venue of the Berlinale.
In a powerful scene, Bean and Rozos visit the mother of Kyler Prescott, the young man who tragically took his life at age 14, shedding light on the deeply personal essence of the documentary.
