Emanuele Crialese: – I was born a woman

During this year’s prestigious film festival in Venice, a somewhat unexpected revelation came from the stage on Sunday.

When the award-winning Italian film director Emanuele Crialese (57) was to present the film “L’Immensita”, he was able to reveal publicly for the very first time that he is transgender, writes Deadline.

– I will never be another man. I was born biologically female. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a large part of a female character in me, he said.

Being transgender means that you do not identify with your biological sex. Some feel as either male or female, while others may feel like something in between, while still others do not identify with either gender.

Some trans people are also transsexual, which means they want to transform into the other gender.

The film “L’Immensita” is directed by Crialese, and is about an Italian family, where the eldest daughter identifies as a boy. This is something that complicates the relationship with the violent father and the protagonist’s mother, played by Penélope Cruz (48).

– It is inspired by my childhood and my own history. At some point I had to make a choice. If I wanted to live or die. You do not choose to embark on such a journey yourself. You were born this way.

The 57-year-old followed up:

– I can’t remember that I was ever perceived differently than I am. So you have no choice.

During his successful career, Crialese has won a number of awards for his films, and now he is also nominated for the best film award at this year’s Venice Film Festival for what turns out to be an autobiographical drama in “L’Immensita”.