I sat in that shop, perched on a tiny stool, until I had examined all of Rebecca's stunning photographs and stories of alternative gender identities. As a filmmaker who has focused on issues of gender, sexuality, and media representation for several years, I knew I had to contact Rebecca immediately and propose that we collaborate on a film. I wanted to turn her stunning photographic portraits into "living" portraits.

To my delight, she agreed, and the result was Black and White, a documentary about intersex activist Mani Bruce Mitchell, a participant from Rebecca's book.

Mani tells her story of being born without a clear sex. For the first year of her life she was a boy. The doctors then re-diagnosed her gender identity, performed surgery, and she grew up as a girl. She found out about the switch accidentally, after decades of secrecy. 

Mani's childhood experiences were difficult to take in, and yet she seemed so compassionate and so at ease with herself as an adult. She was also incredibly dedicated to working with others to publicize the traumas associated with childhood genital surgery, and the secrecy that typically surrounds such medical conditions and their treatment.

In making this movie I wanted to explore how fixed beliefs about appropriate masculinity and femininity are not only limiting, but also potentially damaging, especially to people who, like Mani, are simply different. I wanted to explore Mani's story and her decision to let Rebecca photograph her in a way that looked with her, not merely at her, weaving color, playfulness and optimism together with the painful facts of her past.

I experimented with the use of Super-8 animations to add playfulness and exuberance to certain parts of Mani's story - even to some of the most painful parts. We both loved the effect of this approach, especially since it represented Mani's story as one of optimism, not anchoring her as a victim to be pitied or examined.