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Change of Sex
1977, 108 minutes
Media type
Alternate titles

Forbidden Love

Country of origin

Spain

Production company

Impala

Morgana Films

Filming locations

Barcelona, Spain

Technical specs

Colour

Languages

Spanish/español

Subtitle languages

English/English

Content Warnings
cis actor playing trans character
Images
Two people stand next to each other. The person on the right is taller and resting their hand on the shoulder of the person on the left. The person on the right is in a white dress with red dots all over it with red lipstick, some black eyeshadow and thin eyebrows and shoulder length curly hair. The one on the left is wearing a black lace hat in a black outfit with a black beaded necklace and a pink and white beaded necklace.
Description

The film is based on the story of the young José Maria, played by Victoria Abril, whose delicate appearance provokes 'perversion' among boys - according to the locals. José leaves her hometown for Barcelona where she starts a double life as the seductive Maria José befriends night club star Bibi, played by Bibi Andersen - famous for her transvestite act as 'the woman with a dick'. But as soon as Bibi undergoes surgery to become a woman, she loses her job as the main attraction at the night club, and Maria José, as the pre-op transsexual, replaces her. The film is a mixture of Seventies glamour with what nowadays a rather outdated message about understanding transsexual issues, but it sympathically supports the protagonist's wish to become a woman, despite society's tendency to block the transsexual's path to happiness.

“The Third International Transgender Film and Video Festival Program.” London: Alchemy Festival Productions, 1999. Personal Archives.

Cast & Crew
Crew
Cast
Distribution
Distributors
SOGEPAQ
Screenings

1999-10-22 4:00 PM

London International Transgender Film and Video Festival