Our Dad Danielle Documentary: Interview with S.E. King and Danielle Healy
Our Dad Danielle is a documentary about Danielle Healy's fight to keep her family and her life as a trans woman and activist in Texas.
Anti-trans ads have dominated the airwaves over the last few weeks in America as the election draws close and the Republican candidates are convinced that attacking transgender Americans is a winning strategy. In 2018, Danielle Healy came out to her wife and family as a trans woman living in Texas. Director S.E. King had become friends with Danielle over another project and decided that they would prefer to make a film about her. The result is the documentary Our Dad, Danielle, now streaming on VOD and digital platforms.
The film starts out by looking at the evolution that the Healy family went through during Danielle’s transition. Would her daughters accept her? Would she be able to remain married to her wife, Becky? The questions are intriguing, and the film shows not just Danielle’s transition but the transition of her family, as well.
But as Our Dad, Danielle goes on, we see how Danielle moves from being a successful patent lawyer to an accidental activist for trans rights in Texas, particularly with a young Honduran woman named Sasha who was seeking asylum and needed a lawyer to help her safely stay in the United States. Watching the friendship develop between Danielle, Becky, and Sasha is beautiful and shows that there is no point at which you cannot make a difference in the lives of others.Â
I had the opportunity to interview S.E. King and Danielle Healy. In the video, we discuss the way the film transformed as it was being shot. We discuss the way that the movie examines not just Danielle but also two other trans women and the way their stories intersect. We also talk about living in a red state as a trans woman. Give the video a watch and check out Our Dad, Danielle wherever you rent videos.