Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.

Photos by Jeff Harris.

Janae Marie is a Michigan pharmacist, originally from Ypsilanti, divorced with three sons.

Matt was a high school football player, a former marine who rose to fame as a competitive bodybuilder and power lifter. What brings the two together?

Jenae used to be Matt.

She’s a transwoman facing the unusually difficult transition from titanic 250 pound man into her current status. This transformation is documented in a new feature film called Transformer.

The documentary is directed by Toronto native, award-winning filmmaker Michael Del Monte.

It follows Janae both at home with family and friends, and inside the hypermasculine world of competitive weightlifting. It shows her life both as Matt and as Janae while she makes the difficult decisions and myriad changes faced by all trans people, as well as those unique to her world. Transformer is an eye-opening, surprising, touching and always respectful movie.

I spoke to Janae Marie Kroczaleski and Michael Del Monte on location during Hot Docs.

Del Monte’s Transformer won the won Hot Docs Emerging Canadian Filmmaker Award and the Rogers Audience Choice Award for Best Canadian Doc. It starts its theatrical run today.