“I’m really excited to see it. I’m really excited to be in it!” Andraya Yearwood told Outsports about the Tribeca Film Festival premiere tonight of “Changing the Game,” a new documentary about young transgender athletes like her.

“This is about our lives and our experiences within being transgender and within the sports community,” Yearwood said.

Andraya Yearwood

The other thing that really excited the 17-year-old Connecticut track star, is meeting Mack Beggs, who is the primary focus of the film.

She got that opportunity at GLAAD headquarters in New York City this afternoon, as the cast and creative team behind the documentary met the news media.

Now a college men’s wrestler, the 19-year-old Texas trans man made headlines because state law required him to wrestle girls during his high school years, based on the gender he was presumed to be at birth: female.

Mack Beggs

Beggs won two state titles, and after his second win was booed by some parents of his competitors. But Beggs told the Dallas Morning News he refused to let the bigots bother him.

“That didn’t stop me from competing. That didn’t stop me from being who I was. It sure as hell didn’t stop me from doing what I wanted to do in the past, and it won’t stop me from what I want to do in the future.”

Although the film is centered around Beggs and his desire to compete and live as the man he is, director Michael Barnett also tells the story of Yearwood, who is living authentically and as a result also the target of bigotry, as well as Sarah Rose Huckman, a skier and teen policymaker in New Hampshire.

Barnett is an Emmy award-winning filmmaker. His films include “Superheroes” for HBO Documentary Films, “Becoming Bulletproof” for Showtime and “The Mars Generation” for Netflix. Barnett cowrote the screenplay with Michael Mahaffie. Clare Tucker and Alex Schmider produced the film. Schmider is the documentary’s executive producer.

“Each story is led by the brave and individual voices of these students, allowing extremely personal and vulnerable access into their journeys,” according to the film’s press release. “These courageous kids offer us the opportunity to see the world through their eyes – and share their struggles and successes along the way.”

Chris Mosier, Jeffrey Pechter, Jeffrey Ellermeyer, Carlos Cusco, Emerson Machtus, Andrew Davies Gans and Allen Orr are also credited as executive producers.

Watch the trailer for “Changing the Game” below, or by clicking here.

Changing the Game Trailer

Are you ready? #Tribeca2019 #CTGdoc

Posted by Changing the Game Doc on Friday, April 19, 2019