'What is it about my freedom that bothers you?': how trans films are evolving

The recent BFI Flare festival of LGBTIQ+ films showcased a raft of transgender titles from a powerful family drama to a devastating documentary about a jazz musician. They bear witness to a complicated but optimistic new future

The scenery and production design of Cowboys make you sit up and take notice from the off. They feel like signals that this is not just another trans tearjerker but a film with much bolder ambition and complexity.

The plot revolves around dad Troy and 11-year-old Joe, who run away from their problems together into the Montana wilderness, with but the flimsiest of plans. We are given context via flashbacks: Troy's struggle to be a good man" and Joe's to be a girl". The interweaving works well yet results in a lack of time spent up in the mountains, getting to know present-day father and son.