This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous

Director: Barbara Kopple

Institute History

  • 2017 Sundance Film Festival

Description

In 2008, Gregory Lazzarato, a young, nationally ranked Canadian diver, walked away from the pool and began a YouTube channel focused on makeup tutorials. Unwilling to be intimidated by bullies either online or in high school, Lazzarato became the fierce, outspoken Gregory Gorgeous, amassing a loyal following who found strength and inspiration from his public coming out as a gay male.

Despite this success, the internet personality harbored a secret—one that was revealed in a December 2013 video titled "I Am Transgender." Motivated by the death of her mother, the YouTube star took on the new name Gigi Gorgeous. Gigi, supported by her loving father and brothers, offers a candid look at her transition, sharing its hallmarks online with her legion of fans as she embraces a new world of possibilities.

In capturing Gigi's moving transformation, two-time Academy Award–winning director Barbara Kopple (Harlan County U.S.A., 1976; American Dream, 1990) puts a spotlight on her subject’s uplifting, empowering message of self-acceptance, as Gigi blossoms into a self-assured, happy—and, yes, gorgeous—young woman.

— Basil Tsiokos

Screening Details

Credits

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