Girl Inside

Twenty-six-year-old Madison is in the process of becoming a girl, and Vivien, her apple-martini-drinking glamorous grandmother, is advising her on all things feminine. While Vivien's attempts to school Madison in the mysterious codes of fashion and behaviour are often hilarious, her straight-up questions raise profound issues about the nature of gender and sexuality. Filmed over two years, Madison's metamorphosis unfolds as an emotional, intellectual and spiritual journey of self-discovery that's as important as the physical journey of hormones and surgery. Love trumps discomfort as her family in rural New Brunswick struggles to accept that they now have a daughter instead of a son, a sister instead of a brother. And a year into her transition, she and her best male friend unexpectedly fall in love. Sometimes funny, sometimes painful, this sweet coming-of-age story is both a portrait and an exploration of what it means to be a woman. (Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival)