We’ve Been Around is a series of short films celebrating the lives of just a few transgender pioneers through history. Directed by Rhys Ernst (co-producer of Amazon's hit Transparent) and produced by Christine Beebe, We've Been Around is series of documentary shorts that chronicle the lives of Lucy Hicks Anderson, STAR, Albert, Little Ax and Lou Sullivan.

Each trans* trail-blazers in their own right, and each with stories that have, until recently, gone largely unnoticed by mainstream society. From the narrators to the composer to the animator, the series was made with a breadth of talent from the trans* community. The team includes Transparent actress Alexandra Billings; writer and filmmaker Susan Stryker; and trans historian Monica Roberts.

The trans* movement maybe making headlines, but our rich history is often overlooked. Trans people have always existed, and have lived many different lives. The central theme of We’ve Been Around is stated in the title. We’ve been here, throughout time, often hidden in plain sight. These stories show us just how important it is to share our histories. Ernst Rhys

The films of We’ve Been Around are: S.T.A.R. tracks the modern transgender rights movement via the activism of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, participants in the Stonewall Riots of 1969. Little Axe profiles trans* man Wilmer Broadnax, a popular gospel singer known as Little Axe, and his brother Willie Broadnax, as they sang their way to success from the 1940s to the 1970s. Lou Sullivan recounts the life of Lou Sullivan, a pioneering transgender gay man and AIDS activist Albert Cashier illuminates the 19th-century trailblazing of Albert Cashier, a transgender man who fought in the Civil War. Lucy Hicks Anderson recounts the story of Lucy Hicks Anderson, a woman of colour who thrived during Prohibition and stood her ground to protect her marriage rights after being exposed as a transgender woman.