A RAW
LOVE STORY
A Fluid Tale of Universal Love
A hybrid doc chronicling the journey of a non-binary, gender-fluid artist named Raw (she/they) as they undergo gender-affirming surgery while raising a son with their life partner. The story reveals intimately raw reflections of self-actualization in a world that can be unaccepting; what’s revealed is an enchanting and universal story of love, family, and triumph.
A story told through intimate verité, poetic reflections, and magic realism—Raw, a joyful warrior of the gender non-binary experience, balances parenthood, a full-time job, graduate school, and creative pursuits.
A Raw Love Story offers a rare, intimate portrait of a genderqueer family, revealing that love, stability, and joy can flourish even in a world that increasingly denies their legitimacy. Not a tragedy or a spectacle, but a tender and transformative portrait of resilience, and a love that refuses to be erased.
A deeply personal yet profoundly universal story at a time when trans and non-binary lives are under attack. Against a backdrop of alarming statistics: 81% of transgender adults in the U.S. have thought about suicide, 42% have attempted it, and 56% have engaged in non-suicidal self-injury.
Through radical visibility and tenderness, our goal is simple yet urgent: to help save lives by celebrating them.
A Raw Love Story seeks to foster compassion from broader communities while offering a powerful example of self-actualization for trans and non-binary individuals, affirming that their lives, experiences, and identities can be triumphant and whole.
SUPPORT A Raw Love Story
"Each time you love, love as deeply as if it were forever. In our work and in our living, we must recognize that difference is a reason for celebration and growth, rather than a reason for destruction."
-- AUDRE LORDE
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
MAXIMINA JUSON
Maximina Juson is an award-winning filmmaker and founder of HUMovies, a film and video production company based in Los Angeles. Her documentary feature, One Person, One Vote? is a National Endowment for the Humanities grant recipient that world premiered at The Pan African Film Festival, taking home the Programmer's Award for Best Documentary Feature, and was featured on The Daily Show on Comedy Central. One Person, One Vote? premiered as the season opener for Independent Lens on PBS. Juson was the Consulting Producer and Additional Camera for Mama Bears, a documentary that explores the transformative experience of conservative, Christian mothers who decide to accept their LGBTQ children. The film premiered at SXSW and was a nominee for the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary.