''In the Turn'' is a 2014 documentary film directed by

Erica Tremblay Erica Tremblay (born 1980) is a Native American filmmaker from the Seneca–Cayuga Nation. Tremblay's debut feature film, ''Fancy Dance'' (2023), featured Academy Award nominee Lily Gladstone and premiered at Sundance. She also wrote and directe ...

. It was produced by Tremblay, Bernard Parham, and Bodie Scott-Orman. The film won Best New Mavericks Feature at the

Atlanta Film Festival The Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF) is an international film festival held in Atlanta, Georgia and operated by the Atlanta Film Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Started in 1976 and occurring every spring, the festival shows a diverse r ...

and awards at several

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

film festivals. It was shown at about fifty different film festivals, including Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival,

Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival Seattle Queer Film Festival (formerly known as the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival) is an annual film festival in Seattle. The 28th Annual Seattle Queer Film Festival will take place October 12-22, 2023. It is the largest LGBTQIA+ film festiv ...

, and the Ottawa International Film Festival.

Premise

Through original documentary filming, interviews, online vlog footage, news footage, and archival audio, ''In the Turn'' documents the story of Crystal, a 10-year-old transgender girl living in

Timmins Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 at the 2021 Canadian census and an estimated population of ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. After discovering Vagine Regime, a

roller derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played on an oval track by two teams of five skaters. It is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leaguesA Roller Derby league is synonymous with an individual club or team in other team sports, as ...

association, with her mother, she expressed interest in the sport. Her mother wrote a message to the organization which raised money to sponsor Crystal as she traveled to the United States to enroll in a short roller derby camp. The documentary also recounts the stories of several members of Vagine Regime and the general roller derby community. The film features interviews with

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

members of roller derby teams, fans and a referee, who describe how the community has helped them cope with their transitions.

Reception

According to Regan Reid from ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'', the film focuses on the positive effects of the roller derby community rather than the "devastating aspects" of Crystal's life. Instead of concentrating on the struggles faced by members the LBGT community, it explores their day to day lives. The film has received generally positive reviews. According to ''The Roaming Life,'' "The film clearly demonstrates the importance of finding a community full of people you can look up to when you’re young and transgender." It describes the film as an example of "the power that cinema can have". Pat Mullen, a member of the

Online Film Critics Society The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) is an international professional association of online film journalists, historians and scholars who publish their work on the World Wide Web. The organization was founded in January 1997 by Harvey S. Karten ...

, describes the film as an "inspiring and empowering" documentary but criticized its beginning as "a bit unfocused as Tremblay and editor Dan Litzinger crosscut almost too many stories".

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.intheturn.com/ American sports documentary films 2014 documentary films 2014 films 2014 LGBTQ-related films Films shot in Ontario Films shot in Los Angeles County, California Films shot in San Francisco Films shot in Austin, Texas Films shot in New York City Films shot in Minnesota Transgender-related documentary films American LGBTQ-related documentary films