At first glance, they seem unlikely gang-bangers. Some of the boys wear lipstick and mascara, some stilettos. They carry Louis Vuitton bags, but they also carry knives, brass knuckles and mace. As vulnerable gay and transgender youth, they’ve been shot, stabbed, and raped. Once victims, they’venow turned the tables, beating people into comas and stabbing enemies with ice picks. Started in 2009 by a group of bullied 9th graders, today these 14-22 year old gang members all have rap sheets riddled with assault, armed robbery, and drug dealing charges. Led by an ex-convict named Mo, Check It members are now creating their own clothing label, putting on fashion shows and working stints as runway models. But breaking the cycle of poverty and violence they’ve grown up in is a daunting task. Life for the Check It can be brutal, but—it’s also full of hope and an indomitable resilience. At its heart, CHECK IT explores the undying friendship that exists between these kids—an unbreakable bond that is tested every day as they fight to stand up for who they are in a community relentlessly trying to beat them down. CHECK IT is about a gay African-American gang struggling to survive in one of Washington D.C.’s roughest neighborhoods through an unlikely avenue: fashion.

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In most years, it's a challenge for the festival to program trans films for two reasons: there are so few of them, and many of them tend to overly focus on the physical aspects of transition. Not this year! This year's films have trans folks doing more than transitioning: they're traveling the world, following their hearts, fighting for justice, running for office, loving and being loved, fighting fires, and standing up for themselves and one another.

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One sleepless night as Sadie is surfing the web her suspicions that her and her bestie since the 7th grade are growing apart are confirmed, when she discovers that he has unfollowed her on Instagram. Over the winter Sadie becomes a social recluse, going to Normy Suburbs Public High by day, working at the Bogus Burger Barn by night, reading zines alone in her bedroom and day dreaming while wandering the streets of suburbia. On her 17th birthday her mother gifts her a 3 zone one year transit pass telling her to “go out and explore, discover new things and have adventures close to home.” Downtown Sadie is randomly befriended by Miami, a self identified teeny bopper who is the first out trans girl to attend North Shore Private Girls College. Miami introduces Sadie to her token straight, musical theatre loving BFF Cynthia, her angsty emo boyfriend Zeke, and the rest of her clique: Ellen, an astrology loving lesbian and Jersey, a twinky bisexual highschool drop out. Sadie quickly starts to hang out with them all on the regular, but has she really found a place where she belongs? Or will old insecurities, crushes and drama get in the way?

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