As a first-time documentary filmmaker, I was struck by the captivating film Niñxs and the thoughtfulness behind each phase of the film’s production. I was excited that local filmmakers and cinephiles would have the opportunity to watch this film, as it serves as a bridge between the multifaceted change-making films independent media makers produce in the Philly region and the real impacts of techno-fascist capitalism, transphobia, and patriarchy that undermine underrepresented communities. Beyond this, Niñxs provides an escape; it is an immersive experience to see the filmmaker and protagonist shape the poignant and fun story together on screen.
Niñxs is a new documentary directed by Kani Lapuerta, filmed in “the magical town” of Tepoztlán, Mexico. As described in the film’s synopsis, “Fifteen-year-old Karla intimately, and unabashedly, guides audiences in her journey for self-discovery, as she navigates the joys and uncertainties of adolescence, alongside society’s gender prejudices. While Karla navigates her [gender] transition, Kani shapes eight years of footage into a joyful film.”
In addition to blurring the lines between documentary and fiction, Niñxs subverts the mainstream documentary form by avoiding a reaction-based framing that is sometimes used within social justice storytelling. Documentaries and narrative work that use this type of storytelling are often reacting to mainstream forces, attempting to construct counter narratives. Expanding beyond this type of storytelling creates an opportunity to envision new worlds through film, rather than reacting to hegemonic tropes. Furthermore, the film immerses audiences in a form of nontraditional and necessary storytelling, from centering gender inclusive language to redefining what it means to truly center community in filmmaking.
Even as I brought up “social justice” during our conversation, Lapuerta replied by reframing the work as “cine mas comunitario, que es una apuesta por construir desde las propias comunidades.” The type of work he and others do is “film that is more community-focused, an agreement to construct stories from the [perspectives of] communities themselves.” This is part of the work that the film engages in, challenging audiences to reframe documentary storytelling and filmmakers to reflect on how we talk about the work that we do. This sense of “cine comunitario” is palpable throughout the film and across distribution materials that have been created with community care at the core, including the “Guide for the Communication of Trans* Stories.”
In Niñxs, Lapuerta and the film’s protagonist, Karla, talk about pivotal moments during the film’s production inside of a symbolic cocoon. The cocoon is cozy and designed with love. Essentially, the scenes in the cocoon serve as a meta narrative that flows in parallel to the main storyline. The meta parts of the film beautifully portray the journey that many documentary film teams experience, as the film not only changes, but the film’s team and collaborators also transform throughout the creative process.
Lapuerta explains, “For me, it was nice to have this space that Karla and I could watch the movie, in a space that was outside of everything we had seen, a space that was ours. Like a comfortable space that was a cocoon.” He continues, “It was a type of space where everything was being developed, getting ready to be shared with the world. And the idea was that it was a space where we were watching the film, constructing it, and deciding what worked and didn’t work.”
Lapuerta shares that he and Karla started working together on this journey 10 years ago. His impetus for developing this film connects to his personal experience of participating in documentaries about trans identity, and feeling that the process had been exploitative and extractive. Lapuerta wanted to approach his film differently, by forming strong bonds and centering co-creation processes. He says, “It’s a project that is about reframing trans perspectives in film. So we consciously decided to put our perspectives, our affects, our feelings in the center, in order to tell Karla’s story and to also tell the story of how we made this film over 10 years.”
In the beginning, Lapuerta fell in love with Karla and her family’s story and the freedom that Karla had to express herself in an environment that was relatively open in regards to expansive gender expression. Lapuerta says, “I thought that we also deserve to have stories like that of trans childhoods and adolescence, that yes, they have the option of developing and dreaming outside of suffering, outside of rejection, outside of the obstacles that society places on us.” As the film developed over the years, Karla became more of a collaborator in the film’s creative process. There is such power in long-term collaboration, and Niñxs embodies what it means to center documentary film participants as co-creators.
I asked Lapuerta if he had any advice to offer Philly filmmakers, and he shared, “I think that patience and time are fundamental, especially in documentary.” Lapuerta says that taking the time to pause so that he and the team could review all of the materials, along with spending more time with the family, was key. “What I recommend is that we rethink our role as filmmakers, which is always in a place of power amidst protagonists. So we should see how we can reduce that power. In what ways can we redistribute that power?”
One of the ways that Lapuerta redistributed power was by inviting Karla to boldly participate in the creative process. The collaboration is unique, as the film bends traditional documentary form and incorporates playful fiction elements. This approach is necessary, especially in today’s political landscape in which trans rights are being stripped away. By portraying both powerful reparative storytelling and joyful moments, this film depicts the true meaning of cine comunitaria.
Lapuerta says, “It’s a lighthearted film that generates a little hope in humanity. In the end, it’s a story of love, of respect, of accompaniment. And beside this story, amidst this dystopia at the end of the world, opening these small windows also lets us breathe in this very complicated context.”
Niñxs is screening at the 2026 cinéSPEAK Under The Stars Festival on Friday, June 12 at 7 PM at Clark Park in West Philadelphia. RSVP for free to receive up-to-date information and discounts at participating businesses.
*Featured Image: Still from Niñxs. Courtesy of the filmmaker.
Melissa Beatriz is an Uruguayan American documentary filmmaker, cultural producer, and researcher whose work focuses on the intersection of social justice, media arts/culture, and policy. She is the Director of Actívate Stories, a small media arts organization that produces collaborative documentaries, engages in cultural preservation, and develops creative strategies focused on art and social change.
