Although a fictional story, Short Life Stories is based on hundreds of real stories pulled from personal conversations with trans friends and family, as well as news stories from around the world.

We wanted to offer a glimpse into what the trans community is going through, the nuances of their lives the challenges they overcome, and the joy that is possible. In the end, trans people want the same thing as any cisgender person: to live a long, joyful life.

Anti-trans hate and violence are skyrocketing globally, even in countries that pride themselves on accepting gender identities. Recently, 2 provinces in Canada have passed legislation that discriminates against trans youth. 15% of total hate crimes reported in Canada were anti-LGBTQ+ related. And 70% of trans youth report experiencing some form of sexual harassment or violence.

White Ribbon is a global organization with a mission to end gender-based violence and promote healthier forms of masculinity. This year, they wanted to talk about other issues that intersect with typical notions of gender-based violence.

We follow a young woman as she embraces the beginning of her new life as openly trans and navigates the challenges that ensue.

White Ribbon’s focus has always been the elimination of gender-based violence, but this issue intersects with many other problematic attitudes and behaviors when it comes to gender. One of the most prominent is transphobia.

White Ribbon usually targets men of all ages, but we needed this campaign to reach an even-broader audience: anyone in society who fails to understand the gravity of violence against transgender people.

We created this campaign to have long-term impact. The film is the centrepiece of the campaign, launched during Trans Awareness Week, that helped create a coalition of allies—from the Government of Canada, who provided $200K in funding, to media companies who donated $200K in media, to the adidas Group and the mayor of Toronto who shared the film on social, extending its reach. The film quickly generated 290 news stories and 3.8 million social impressions shortly after launch.

Beyond this initial push, White Ribbon uses the film in seminars for employers, the military, schools, and other organizations and institutions to educate people about different aspects of gender-based violence.