Film festival to feature documentary about transgender life in rural North Carolina

North Carolina, where the state's controversial bathroom law has received national attention for being accused of discriminating against transgender people, will host The North Carolina Gay + Lesbian Film Festival beginning Friday and running through Aug. 20 in Durham. Organizers call the festival the second largest gay, lesbian and transgender film festival in the Southeast, attracting thousands of patrons yearly.

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Among the films scheduled to play is Deep Run, a documentary produced by actress Susan Sarandon set in the rural town of Deep Run, N.C.,  home to 3,013 people. The film is described as "a powerful verite portrait of trans life in rural North Carolina. Exiled by her family and rejected by an ex, 17-year-old Spazz has no one to lean on for support. But when Spazz falls in love again and summons up the courage to become Cole, a strong-willed trans man, his candid humor and steadfast, all-inclusive Christian beliefs counter the bigotry he experiences daily. This raw documentary reveals rebirth and courage within America's deeply conservative Bible Belt." The film will be screened at 3 p.m. on Sunday.