Carrick-Carina
Logline
An NYC tween, self-assured of her transgender identity and spunky as hell, is on the cusp of puberty. She must convince her divorced parents — a recovering alcoholic father and overbearing mom - that she needs hormone blockers to stop from developing into a boy, but their self-centeredness and lack of understanding makes this a difficult path.
Feature Synopsis
One summer in the late 2000s, 11-year-old Carrick O'Conner spends time with their estranged dad, Eddy. But what his father does not know is that Carrick is actually a girl. Eddy is a recovering alcoholic who has a reputation for disappearing from his child and his responsibilities as a dad. Now, with a year clean and sober, he is trying to show up. During her stay a t her dad's place, Carrick's voice deepens, and her shoulders burst out of her Pokemon T-shirt. Puberty is here. Knowing in her soul this change is wrong, Carrick shows her father a picture of hormone blockers. It is what she needs, or she will transform into a man. She can stay in the lie, or live baby, live!
Kathy, Carrick's mother, and stepfather, Lou, are soon brought into the discussion. But their misconcern and selfishness gets in the way of Carrick's needs. Soon Carrick takes her parents to a transgender health conference to see her hero, Leslie Ledger, a girl her age who has transitioned genders publicly. Leslie's story nearly convinces Carrick's mother that this transition is right for her child. However, Eddy's resolve only strengthens against the idea because he discovers that Leslie's father was also absent from her life. He wants to spend the rest of the summer teaching his "confused" kid how to be a man. Carrick agrees, thinking that by the end of August, she will prove to her dad that she is a girl no matter what.
Shortly after Carrick goes back to Woodlawn with her dad, Eddy's community gets wise about what is going on with his kid, and the stress drives him to drink. Carrick runs back to her mom's place and finds out she has been convinced by Lou to send her to a conversion camp. A terrified Carrick then hightails it to a homeless shelter for trans women in Chelsea, Manhattan. At the shelter, she realizes through the other girls' stories that she can still convince her mother to accept her. She finally convinces her mom that she is a girl. The two end up leaving Lou's house and living together. Finally, she has the unconditional support of at least one parent, and that's all that matters.
Finally, she is Carina!
Kathy, Carrick's mother, and stepfather, Lou, are soon brought into the discussion. But their misconcern and selfishness gets in the way of Carrick's needs. Soon Carrick takes her parents to a transgender health conference to see her hero, Leslie Ledger, a girl her age who has transitioned genders publicly. Leslie's story nearly convinces Carrick's mother that this transition is right for her child. However, Eddy's resolve only strengthens against the idea because he discovers that Leslie's father was also absent from her life. He wants to spend the rest of the summer teaching his "confused" kid how to be a man. Carrick agrees, thinking that by the end of August, she will prove to her dad that she is a girl no matter what.
Shortly after Carrick goes back to Woodlawn with her dad, Eddy's community gets wise about what is going on with his kid, and the stress drives him to drink. Carrick runs back to her mom's place and finds out she has been convinced by Lou to send her to a conversion camp. A terrified Carrick then hightails it to a homeless shelter for trans women in Chelsea, Manhattan. At the shelter, she realizes through the other girls' stories that she can still convince her mother to accept her. She finally convinces her mom that she is a girl. The two end up leaving Lou's house and living together. Finally, she has the unconditional support of at least one parent, and that's all that matters.
Finally, she is Carina!
