Sexual and gender identity, especially for the trans community, are subjects we’re seeing more on the big screen than ever before. In most cases, telling these stories from the perspective of someone who isn’t part of the queer community would be problematic, but Adam is a film that seeks to change that.
Debuting at Sundance, Adam is the feature debut of writer/director Rhys Ernst, a producer on Transparent, a series that tackled with sensitivity and acclaim issues faced by a transgender person. The story follows a young cis teenager whose gender identity is mistaken, but he keeps up the charade so as to keep hanging out with a lesbian woman he’s smitten with.
The film stars Margaret Qualley, soon to be seen in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Nicholas Alexander, and trans actor Bobbi Salvor Menuez, seen on the Amazon series I Love Dick and Olivier Assayas’ Something in the Air.
SYNOPSIS: Awkward, self-conscious Adam (Nicholas Alexander), a high-school teenager, jumps at the chance to spend the summer with his hip older sister Casey (Margaret Qualley) in New York City. Since leaving home, Casey has integrated herself into the LGBTQ+ community, openly embracing her sexuality and making activism a part of her daily life. When Adam tags along to a marriage-equality march, he sees the beautiful, savvy Gillian (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) and is instantly smitten. Gillian mistakes Adam’s gender identity, and he can’t quite bring himself to correct her error as the two grow closer.
Adam opens in NY on August 13th and LA on August 23rd.
