Italian filmmaker Emanuele Crialese (“Golden Door,” “Once We Were Strangers”) has been open about being a transgender man for years now, but he has taken the opportunity of his new higher-profile, Penelope Cruz-starring film “L’immensità,” to remind the world of that fact. Set in Rome in the 1970s, the autobiographical story revolves around a family led by Cruz’s mother character. Of her three children, one is a trans boy, and he fights for his place and his identity in the world when the family isn’t supportive. The film had its North American premiere at the Sundance Film Festival after European runs in 2022 and will most likely take a bow theatrically in the U.S. later this year. With anti-trans sentiment out of control among cultural conservatives, now is exactly the time for more trans stories to be told.
