ADAM

Transparent producer and Outfest alum Rhys Ernst’s ambitious feature debut approaches Ariel Schrag’s 2014 satirical YA novel of the same name with sensitivity and nuance, opening a window into the lives of young lesbian and trans New Yorkers in 2006. Faced with a boring summer with his parents, awkward high schooler Adam decides to join his hip sister Casey (Margaret Qualley, Fosse/Verdon), a student at Columbia University, and an active member of the New York City queer scene. As the naïve but open-minded Adam tags along, he finds himself taken with the older(ish) Gillian. Surprisingly, she seems interested, assuming he is a trans man — not a cis, straight teen — and Adam does nothing to correct her. As he falls deeper into a relationship with Gillian and plunges further into the core of this group, Adam must find a way to live his truth without alienating and offending his new friends.

A coming-of-age romance with a twist, this comedy of errors doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable moments, treating its characters, their perspectives, and their experiences with respect. Turning the trans-deception trope on its head, Adam charts the growth not only of a young man, but also of a movement, giving the eponymous Adam, as well as the audience, an intimate entrée into a very specific time and place.