Fridae

Zhang Wei has announced that he will be shooting a film depicting the difficulties of a transgender teen in China’s Zhejiang province.

Entitled “Rib,” the movie will explore a teenager transitioning from male to female within a devoutly Christian family.

According to a statement from the director the family confront their differences and uncover the rife prejudice against the LGBT community.

Zhang’s previous films include “Factory Boss” which won an award at the 2014 Montreal World Film Festival and “Destiny” which follows the tale of an autistic boy’s struggle to get an education.

Like his previous two films it is thought that “Rib” is rooted in a true story. “I can tell you that on my creative team there are people who are transgender and people who are Christian. We want to make the script as real as possible,” Zhang told Variety magazine.

“I want to underline that any society has social problems; no society is perfect or spotless. In my films I’ve chosen to represent this aspect of society, but I have hope and always show love [for my country]. I’m tackling these problems in a patriotic way ” Zhang also said.