NO BIKINI DIRECTED BY CLAUDIA MORGADO FILM FOR GRADES 7-12

I wasn't pretending; I just was.

GRADE LEVEL: 7-12
FILM CREATORS: Directed by Claudia Morgado and written by Claudia Morgado and Ivan E. Coyote

FILM AWARDS: 
Hamburg Lesbian and Gay Film Festival: Best Transgender Short
New York Lesbian and Gay Film Festival: Best Short Film
Paris International Lesbian and Feminist Film Festival: Audience Award for Best Short
PlanetOut Short Movie Awards: Grand Prize
San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival: Audience Award for Best Short
Toronto Inside Out Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival: Best Canadian Short/Honorable Mention

REVIEW 
My eight-year-old son and I watched this movie together. It is only eight minutes long, but it leaves an impression. Without hesitation, my son started to ask questions, all the while using the gender pronoun preferred by the main character. It always amazes me that children are often much more empathetic and easy going about such things, much more so than many adults I have met and for sure more so than the mother of the protagonist of the film, Robin.

Robin is a seven-year-old boy whose mother signs him up for six weeks of  swim lessons. In the beginning we see Robin struggle with the bikini his mother has picked out for him, but as soon as she is gone, so is the bikini top. Robin is free to face the next six weeks as his true self as his mother never watches the class. Without the worry of the bikini, Robin is free to worry about other fears, such as the diving board and whether or not he will win the coveted Swim Champ award. After all only one person can win...

The movie is a great film for middle school and high school. In eight minutes we can clearly see that Robin is supported by his swim teacher, a fellow boy in his swim class, and his other swim class members. What is clear at the end, is that he is not supported by his mother. Following Robin's swim triumphs allows us to see him for much more than his gender. Audience members are rooting for this character and it is easy to accept him for who he is. What is not easy, is how the story ends. Robin's six weeks are up and for now so is his ability to live his true identity. The ending will provoke a reaction from students and hopeful start a meaningful discussion.


CLASSROOM TOOLBOX

• I can see this film a companion resources for a larger unit about identity. It is short and will easily promote class discussion. It could easily work with any of the high school level books or even the middle school books such as George.
• The film would work well in promoting a Socratic style discussion. Where we have an inner circle speak about the film while an outer circle observes the inner circle and gives feedback on the discussion. 
• As far a Common Core standards go, I think analyzing the film for its narrative techniques is an option. I would ask students to think about why the story is told from the POV of Robin and how  this choice lends to the overall message of the story. I might ask the students to explore what conflicts exist and what sub conflicts exist in the story? Why do the creators of the story want us to focus on the sub conflicts? Do the smaller conflicts relate to the bigger one? 
• The story is much like that of a personal narrative. You might have them recognize the characteristics of a personal narrative in the film. 
• The film would make a perfect intro to digital storytelling. Encourage the students to think about the message of the film. What do they want the message of their digital story to be? 

LINKS TO OTHER TOOLBOX IDEAS:
Nicole Maines TED TALKS
The Telling Room-This resource has a lot of experience with getting story out of students. The link provided will bring you to the multi-media storytelling page. They often publish student work too!

FEEL FREE TO SHARE YOU OWN IDEAS AND CREATIVITY WITH US!