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Jake Graf - Trans Director, Actor, Producer

To be added to lead section:

Graf has expressed concern that many cisgender people do not know that trans people exist, so he specializes in short films dealing with transgender issues in an effort to normalize queer and trans experiences to a wider, more mainstream audience. According to Graf, trans men in particular face issues of representation as it is easier for them to live under the radar as opposed to trans women. As a result, many of Graf’s films emphasize the daily lived experiences of trans men.

Early Life

According to Graf, he was vocal from a young age about his knowledge of being a boy, despite being raised and treated as a girl. Feeling that he was missing parts that other boys had, Graf felt isolated and reclusive as a child. Around the age of puberty, Graf learned to keep these feelings to himself, until eventually beginning the process of transitioning at 28 years old.

Personal life
Until transitioning in his late twenties, Graf identified as a lesbian. After meeting some other trans men at 28 in New York City, Graf began the process of transitioning. He soon started sensing an unexpected shift in his sexual orientation. Graf has expressed that the high levels of testosterone he took to facilitate his transition caused him to become more attracted to men than women for a period of time. This eventually levelled out and he now identifies more as bisexual, although he dislikes the term. This shift in sexual orientation throughout transitioning is believed to be a common occurrence, though discussed very little.

Jake Graf and his fiancée, Hannah Winterbourne, announced their engagement in 2017 after Graf proposed in New York City. Winterbourne is an engineer with the British Army and holds the title of highest ranking transgender officer. The couple has expressed interest in having children, and will likely do so through surrogacy.

To be added under Short Films: - start from here

Brace:

Brace is loosely based on Graf's own experience of transitioning from female to male. According to Graf, the name Brace alludes to the relationship between the two male leads, described by him as "a pair, a coupling," but it also references the film's theme of bracing oneself for the impact of unexpected news, for example. Graf also attributes the title to a brace as a sort of architectural support that serves to fortify and strengthen a structure.

Dusk (new section):

Dusk is a 15 minute film about a man born in a female body in the 1950s who, due to societal pressures of the time, lives to old age as a woman. Graf was inspired to make the film Dusk when he received an e-mail from a trans woman who shared her experience of living as a gay man into her seventies.

To be added to Achievements:

In 2015, Graf was one of 101 people nominated for a Rainbow Award, which recognizes prominent lgbtq+ people in Britain. The nomination acknowledges Graf’s work in raising awareness of trans and queer issues through film.