Filmmaker Statement

With I Am Mia, I wanted to explore the concept of an empowered female character. She would live outside the spotlight, afraid of revealing her authentic self until eventually fighting for what she believed. The spark would be the moment she owns her true sexual identity, and the 24 hours that follows. During development, I met with several members of London’s transgender community. They shared various insights on how they saw the world and more importantly, how the world saw with them. This process helped in providing direction to my actors as well as offering me greater insight into the subjects I wanted to explore. My goal for this film was to create an identifiable and intimate world fully inhabited by the characters. I wanted viewers to relate to the universality of the human experience rather than label the characters as something “other”. It was never my intent to idolize Mia as some kind of transgender hero, but rather to portray her for what she is: a loving and caring mother.