Rafael Albarran stars in Lupe, now on HBO. A trans artist wanted to see a trans ‘badass’ onscreen. Now she can George Elkind | Q Syndicate After years of collaborating on shorts films around the East coast, filmmakers André Phillips and Charles Vuolo shared a gut feeling: They were both ready to make a feature-length production.
But they weren’t sure what to make it about. Then in 2014 they met trans artist Celia Harrison on the set of a music video in which she was performing.
Still weighing the subject themselves, they asked her what kind of story she’d most like to see onscreen. She answered, “I’d love to see a film with a transgender protagonist that’s a badass.” Specifically, she explained, she wanted to see a trans character who