Graceland

Graceland explores today’s notions of gender expression against the backdrop of the conventional nuclear family, exhibiting the generational conflict between a clean-cut, old school suburban mother (Anna Camp) and her transgender son (Katie Beth West), who rejects the name Grace and chooses instead the name Elvis. What’s interesting - indeed, refreshing - about Discepolo’s film is the subversion of work and struggle: it is not Elvis who bears the weight of the journey towards acceptance; rather, it is Elvis’ mom who must embark on a journey of self-discovery and ultimately adapt her beliefs and her role as parent in order to have a loving, open, and successful relationship with her son. So too often it is the queer individual who, in their coming-out narrative, does all of the work in creating a space in which they can live their truth. No, Graceland shows that it is also incumbent upon the parents of queer children to meet them halfway. Elvis, in fact, does not hide who he is and - literally, in a talent show sequence - stands in the spotlight. (Nashville Film Festival)