Munroe Bergdorf documentary Love & Rage coming to cinemas this June
Entitled Love & Rage: Munroe Bergdorf, the documentary will track Bergdorf's life and career, exploring the challenges she has faced in both
By Gary Grimes
Munroe Bergdorf, the model and trans activist, is the subject of a new documentary coming to cinemas this June.
Entitled Love & Rage: Munroe Bergdorf, the documentary will track Bergdorf’s life and career, exploring the challenges she has faced in both, “including navigating homophobia, racism and difficult relationships — it also highlights moments of resilience, self-discovery, and empowerment,” as per the film’s official description.
The film is said to weave Munroe’s memories with present-day moments, “using stylised sequences and a sensory soundscape to reflect the complexity of her experiences.”
The documentary was directed by Olivia Cappuccini, who viewers may be familiar with as the director of the Andy Murray documentary Resurfacing. It comes from the producers of the Alexander McQueen documentary McQueen.
Activist Munroe was previously the recipient of an Attitude Pride ICON Award. Speaking to us at the time, she commented on the reality of being trans in the UK. “It’s extremely difficult to be trans in this country… [but] our community is always going to have that fighting spirit, because in order to survive as a trans person, in order to be trans, you literally need to fight for yourself.
“I feel that’s why so many trans people end up in the activist space, because to be trans is innately an act of resistance,” she went on. “You’re living in a society that constantly invalidates you, telling you that you don’t exist, making it next to impossible for you to access healthcare, to find someone who loves you without fetishising you, to be able to love yourself.”
The model once made history as the first trans person to grace the cover of Cosmopolitan UK and to be hired as the face of L’Oréal – only to be dropped weeks after the announcement for taking to Facebook to speak out about white-supremacy rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, she received an apology from the cosmetics giant. She’s also hosted her own TV show and podcast series, is a contributing editor at British Vogue, and has published a memoir called Transitional.
Love & Rage: Munroe Bergdorf is in cinemas in the UK 10 and 11 June.