Film ‘The Sound of Identity’ makes trans history

April 25, 2021 Queer Forty Staff 2 min read

A groundbreaking feature documentary that features transgender operatic talent Lucia Lucas is headed our way.

Winner of the 2020 Outshine Film Festival’s prestigious Programmers Award of Excellence, THE SOUND OF IDENTITY profiles international opera star Lucia Lucas’ historic performance at the Tulsa Opera, as she becomes the first known transgender woman to perform a principal role in opera history.

Transgender opera star Lucia Lucas and her mentor Tobias Picker,

Directed by James Kicklighter (Angel of Anywhere), THE SOUND OF IDENTITY is a production from the Emmy Award-winning team of Russ Kirkpatrick & Andy Kinslow (Boomtown: An American Journey), and is executive produced by Golden Globe®-winner and Academy Award®-nominated Josh Bachove (Minari), with Jonathan Pope (The Social Dilemma) on as Director of Photography.

THE SOUND OF IDENTITY captures Lucia Lucas on the cusp of international stardom, profiling the moment in an artist’s career when everything could fall apart or come together. Showcasing the collaborative process between Lucas and her mentor, prolific and renowned composer Tobias Picker, Mozart’s Don Giovanni comes to life as Lucas, a world-renowned baritone, takes the spotlight and all the pressures that come with it.

“Our work as artists is both informed by our life experiences, and the times we live in,” says Kicklighter. “In profiling the professional journey of Lucia Lucas, I believe I have also made the most personal film of my own career, a universal story of all the experiences that make up the people we choose to become. Through telling the story of Lucia Lucas today, in an era where trans visibility is unprecedented, we examine the strides that have been made, but also, the long road ahead for this marginalized community.”

THE SOUND OF IDENTITY will kick off global Pride Month celebrations, drawing attention to the plight of transgender people in another pivotal year as we fight for total social acceptance. With confidence in her own abilities renewed, Lucia Lucas paves the way for other performers to live their most authentic lives. As Lucas’ performance happens in one of the reddest states in America, THE SOUND OF IDENTITY shows that people and places are much more complicated than they seem.

Shout! Studios is proud to present THE SOUND OF IDENTITY on digital and on demand June 1, 2021.