The Love Of My Life: A Much-Needed Trans Love Story Comes To ABC
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Following transgender lesbian couple Lisette and Gail, ABC’s new documentary The Love of My Life spotlights a bold and uncompromising love story that often goes unseen in society.
The documentary is about a transgender romance sixty years in the making and follows the couple as they navigate marriage and family as their true selves.
“[We] want to show everyone that it’s never too late to embrace yourself and be who you want to be in life, to make big steps,” says Francesca Rizzoli, co-writer, director, and cinematographer for the film.
It’s A Great Story, And We Need A Great Story Right Now
Gail and Lisette first approached Rizzoli in 2018, eager to tell the unique story of their love and provide a positive message for audiences.
“I think [our] love story is something that people will feel and pick up on,” says Gail. “The hope that things for the transgender community will get better in the future because there will always be people out there who will fall in love and prove that it can happen.”
Gail also underlines the levity the film brings in a time of turmoil for transgender people.
“The way things are going with elections and the rise of the right-wing, [transgender people] are gonna be political football again and again,” she says. “This documentary is light, it’s funny, it’s about love, it’s a great story, and we need a great story right now.”
A Different Story Than The Ones You See Online
Rizzoli further discusses how the film strays from popular media portrayals of transgender people, which are often oppressive, invasive and hypersexual.
“I’m happy that we are showing what I think is a different story than the ones you often see online that are focused on the sexuality, or the surgery [of transgender people],” says Rizzoli.
She also expresses why it’s important to spotlight the stories of those in society’s margins.
“I really hope, and I may be a bit naïve in this, that people come out of this saying that ‘[Gail and Lisette] are just people’, that ‘they are just people like me’.”
The film premiered on ABC TV on April 2 as part of the channel’s Compass program. It is available on the national broadcaster’s ABC iview.
‘The Love Of My Life’ Trailer HD from Trevor Graham on Vimeo.
