Embracing Identity: Gender-diverse Storytelling and Authenticity in Max Currie's 'Rurangi'

Depicting a young transgender man's return to the family, community and rural town that he fled from a decade earlier, Max Currie's independently produced New Zealand film marks a rare instance of a story of this kind that has been primarily put together by gender-diverse creatives and performers. While its technical ambitions are modest and its web-series origins leave some rough edges behind in the narrative, the film's steadfast commitment to faithful representation goes a long way, finds Glenn Dunks.

Additional keywords:
Rūrangi, Elz Carrad, Farmer Wants a Wife, trans, non-binary, Cole Meyers, LGBTQIA+, The Danish Girl, Pose, A Fantastic Woman, queer art, Maori, takatāpui, two-spirit, sister girls, brother boys, Love, Victor, Hulu, Disney