Damn These Heels Film Festival: Lady Valor: The Kristen Beck Story
Events
Lady Valor: The Kristen Beck Story (US, 90 min.)
Directed by Sandrine Orabona and Mark Herzog
Herzog & Company
Street: 06.27
In 2013, former Navy Seal Christopher Beck came out as Kristen, a transgender woman. After 20 years of serving in combat missions in war zones across the world, her new mission—to find inner happiness and to raise awareness of trans issues in the military—has been one of her most exhausting and challenging. The film quickly documents Kristen’s high-profile coming out, which happened after she appeared in an Anderson Cooper special last year, then follows Kristen’s homecoming to her small town of Wellsville, N.Y., where she spends time with her dad, brother and little sister—family members that recognize the transition.
Through Kristen’s travels across the U.S., the filmmakers give us a personal look into the military’s LGBTQ community (some 15,000 service members are trans, an identity still considered a disorder by the military), and show how Kristen functions as a leader of reform and support efforts. This well-made, intimate documentary gives us a rare glimpse into the personal life of one of our nation’s bravest heroes.