Director: Tom Gaisford, Producer: Together TV, UK, Language: English, 2022, 20′, Rights: World excl. UK
COME OUT FIGHTING Jill, a gay trans man, prepares mentally and physically to step into the ring for his next boxing bout- finding strength in an emerging LGBTQ+ fight community to square up to old attitudes and challenge a current ban on trans boxers. This knockout documentary provides a ringside seat to the intimate journey of a trans athlete, at a time when trans access to the sport makes headlines worldwide.
Contributor Nessie said: “The reason we need to maintain queer spaces for sport is that we already know that change doesn’t get handed down from the top – any big social change happens because it has been fought for at the community level. We’re going to be the ones to figure out how to change boxing, they’re not going to do that for us.”
About the Creator:
Tom Gaisford (he/him) grew up in Devon and studied Human Sciences before moving to London in 2016 to pursue his career in television. Since then he’s worked as a Researcher and Assistant Producer on various documentaries and specialist factual programmes, including for Netflix (Babies), Channel 4 (Unreported World, Lost Kingdoms of the Amazon), and National Geographic (Buried Secrets of WWII). Outside of TV, he volunteers at Knockout LGBTQ+ boxing club where he is training to become a coach.
About Together TV’s Diverse Film Fund:
- Four LGBTQ+ stories brought to life by Together TV are to be released in November: from the aquatic adventures of two queer mermaids, the tumultuous tale of a trans boxer campaigning for the right to fight, to Britain’s first out Muslim drag queen undergoing gender affirmation surgery and the struggles of two gay dads going through a painful child adoption process.
- Together TV’s Diverse Film Fund was created with the aim to give underrepresented narratives a platform. Four filmmakers have been commissioned to create 20-minute documentaries and will have their films aired on Together TV
- The filmmakers include Hollyoaks star Ross Adams, who explores his painful journey and reflection upon the adoption process for LGBTQ+ couples, and former Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist Shiva Raichandani.
- This year’s theme is LGBTQ+: Queer Lives Today, which celebrates the LGBTQ+ community while bringing attention to important issues affecting the day-to-day lives of its members.
- The 2022 Diverse Film Fund includes mentors and judges from media giants including, BBC, Sky, Paramount, TwoFour Productions, Zinc Media Group, alongside Bafta-nominated director Ashley Francis-Roy and industry expert Stephen D Wright.