As part of the competition in the documentary program of the SFF, the documentary film from Serbia called “When I was a boy, I was a girl’’ was shown yesterday in Multiplex Cinema City by young director Ivana Todorević.
The film follows Goca, a transvestite who lives in Belgrade and faces widespread condemnation from society, and on her 39th birthday decides to speak about her sexuality publicly.
She thus tells her life story that she wrote with the help of playwright Olga Dimitrijević.
Director Todorević said that she made the film because she wished to highlight to her community the problem that different people have and what they have to face.
She said that she would continue to work on films that deal with social issues.
The protagonist of the film Goca addressed the audience, and she said that after the film she did not have discomfort, although that was strange for her, but this experience gave her strength to live her life regardless of her sexual orientation.
She called on all people to look at one another equally because essentially we are all human.
‘After the movie I broke free from the shackles of society and I told my story. I love my country and I will not leave it even though I would have better living conditions somewhere else, but I want to show that transvestites could live freely in Serbia as well’’, said Goca.
In the film, Goca said that she does not walk the streets as a woman, but in a discussion with the audience she said that 18 months have passed since the filming of this movie and that she has more strength and walks the streets as a woman now.
Goca raised her niece Marina as her own daughter, and they have an honest relationship.
On the other hand, her 18 year old boyfriend is constantly stealing her money that she earns as a prostitute. Nevertheless, Goca still loves him and afterwards discovers that he has another girlfriend Afrodita.
This honest film speaks about the severity of the experiences of different people in the societies in which they live and all that they have to give up in order to fight for who they are.
(Source: Fena)