Michiel van Erp: “It is a great honor that my film ‘I Am A Woman Now’ will be shown on the Side by Side LGBT Festival in St. Petersburg. For me it was very important to make this film last year, particularly because these women are getting older and may not be around for much longer. Their stories, experiences and constant struggle for acceptance can still be documented. Courage and daring are needed to go against the grain by deciding to put a radical halt to the life mapped out for you by your family, friends and education. With all its consequences: these women often experienced exclusion by those same loved ones, family and friends. You take a certain path that, certainly in those days, no one knew where it would lead. But what is better? To continue to ignore your greatest desires or to act on them?

We now live in a confusing society, certainly in terms of sexuality. In my home country, transsexuality has become a reasonably accepted phenomenon. At the same time, hard-fought sexual freedoms are now under discussion again. In ‘I am a Woman Now’  I  document the stories and the living conditions of five old transsexuals, possibly as inspiration for a younger generation. It is important never to forget that not all the values in today’s society have been achieved without a struggle.Hopefully the themes and portraits in my movie will inspire the audience and change broaden the Russian perspective on this controversial subject.”