I'm Not a Boy

Listen Up!
Frame by Frame Fierce

Julie Joyce

Documentary
Short Film

More About I’m Not a Boy from Producer Listen Up!

Beyond Borders: Personal Stories from a Small Planet is a creative burst of defiance and hope by teenagers who are overcoming the huge obstacles and ignorance that have defined their lives. It’s an inspiring compilation of 11 short films written, shot and edited by teenagers who weave documentary filmmaking, animation and archival footage to tell personal stories on fear and insecurity.

When we began the Beyond Borders Project, we were inspired by Michael Moore’s film Bowling for Columbine, as well as a speech given by Tim Robbins at the National Press Corps in Washington, D.C. Moore challenged us to rethink our fears, while Robbins described how our government squandered an opportunity to unite our country and world after 9/11. Both men took heat for speaking the truth. So, we asked the youth filmmakers what they most fear in their own lives and how they manage to overcome it.

This is Julie’s story: Julie Joyce is not a boy. She is more than just an intense, fast-talking New York City sixteen-year-old. She’s a trans-gendered youth who wants what all young people want – to be heard and to have a positive space to live and grow.

FILMMAKER BIOS

Julie Joyce, Director

Julie Joyce lives in New York City. She has a Paralegal degree and will be going to school to become an R.N. She plans to combine the two fields and become a legal nurse consultant. She hopes I’m Not a Boy helps young trans-gendered women to be proud and to be able to voice their struggle. Julie still participates in the ballroom scene, but not as frequently.

Listen Up!, Producer

Listen Up! is a youth media network that connects young video producers and their allies to resources, support and projects in order to develop the field and achieve an authentic youth voice in the mass media.

Frame by Frame Fierce, Producer

The House of Frame by Frame Fierce is an artist-run organization dedicated to using animation as a form of artistic activism for at-risk youth. Since 2000, they’ve been teaching animation workshops to street-involved and runaway youth within the Creative Arts Therapy department at Safe Space Homeless Youth Services, as well as Safe Home, a transitional residence for homeless youth with HIV. In the workshop, youth producers learn how to use cutout animation to create images and stories that represent themselves and their unique experiences, both of which are absent within mainstream media. Animation gives youth producers the freedom to walk the border between reality and fantasy, allowing them to communicate powerful and difficult messages with creativity and humor.