ep.41 Daresha Kyi: "Texas Strong"

Daresha Kyi is an award-winning filmmaker who writes, produces, and directs for film and television. Earlier this year at the South by Southwest Film Festival we chatted with cinematographer, Amy Bench, who shot Daresha’s documentary for the American Civil Liberties Union and Little By Little Films, “Texas Strong” an intimate portrait of conservative christian mother Kimberly Shappley and her seven-year-old trans daughter Kai.

In the film, Kai’s mom rejects her community’s beliefs to support her 7-year-old transgender daughter and her struggle to navigate school, where she’s been banned from the girls’ bathroom.

To view the ‘Trans in America’ series, visit the ACLU web page:
https://www.aclu.org/issues/lgbt-rights/transgender-rights/trans-america

View Texas Strong on the Condé Nast platform ‘them’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuIkLNsRtas

Texas Strong Credits:
Director: Daresha Kyi
Producers: Lindsey Dryden, Shaleece Haas
Executive Producer: Molly Kaplan (ACLU), Chase Strangio (ACLU)
Advisory Board: Wriply Bennet, Sam Berliner, Debi Jackson
Cinematographer: Amy Bench
Editor: Jamie Boyle
Assistant Producer: Nora Wilkinson (ACLU)
An ACLU & Little By Little Films production

For updates on Daresha Kyi’s upcoming feature documentary ‘Mama Bears’:
https://www.dareshakyi.com/mamabears

Today's Guest: Amy Bench (for Daresha Kyi)
http://amybench.com

@dareshakyi
@dpamyb

Host & Producer: Jim Kamp
http://polychromemedia.com/jameskamp/
@kampjames