'Jack & Yaya' Review: A touching narrative of two transgender friends on a journey of self-discovery
A heartwarming story of a pair of tight-knit childhood friends, 'Jack & Yaya' is a documentary detailing the personal journey of two transgender individuals. The film chronicles their profound friendship, family relationships and personal growth while navigating through their transition together. It is also an account of their personal struggles with self-realization and adulthood.
Jack and Christina aka Yaya, the stars of the 1 hour-23 minute unscripted film, met as children at ages three and two, respectively. The two families shared a backyard fence and it became their medium of communication, eventually growing into a strong bond of friendship. Growing up together in rural South Jersey, they had always known that they weren't exactly who they were supposed to be. Even at a tender age, Jack and Yaya saw each other for what they truly are, a boy and a girl, even if the world didn't see them that way. As the realization hit them both, they found comfort in each other when the road to transitioning seemed long and hard. Decades later, Jack and Yaya are still best friends. Yaya is a waitress in her hometown striving to make ends meet after the passing of her mother, while Jack lives in Boston and works as a kindergarten teacher.
Jack, who was born Jacqueline, had always known that he was different. Although at the time he didn't know he wanted to be a boy, he knew he wanted to marry a woman. That realization had come to him as a shock and he had tried incessantly to subdue those thoughts. It was only years later that he came to terms with his sexuality, even confessed to his family and changed his name legally to Jack. Yaya, on the other hand, was formerly Christopher and had always had a feminine streak to her. She enjoyed dressing up as a child and wearing make-up and also learned at a young age that she wanted, more than anything, to be a woman. She initially performed at drag shows and won drag pageants as 'Yaya Dalight', until she seriously contemplated transitioning.
The film is a candid account of the lives of Jack and Yaya, featuring present-day interviews with the two and their families, combined with abundant archival footage from their time growing up together. "To be honest, the reason why we were such good friends when we were younger is because of who we actually are," says Jack. Being younger and not understanding how they felt helped the two friends connect with each other. The film also touches upon the complex and difficult subject of coming out, especially to family. While we see now that both their families are openly accepting and supportive, both Jack and Yaya initially had a hard time with coming out to their parents. Coming out as a gay was easier than coming out as transgender and that showed, especially with both their mother's rough response to them identifying as transgender. Over the years, their respective families have come to understand them and have become a safety net for both Jack and Yaya.
The film also follows Jack as he struggles with his decision to move forward with a gender-affirming surgery, while Yaya pushes through some major setbacks in her name changing process. With each other's help, the two manage to withstand their problems, emerging victorious in the end. Yet they continue to voice that despite these successes, it is a hard life out there. Jack still has to endure stereotypical behavior and homophobic as well as transphobic comments made towards him in a big city like Boston, while Yaya mourns her having to fight with her body every single day. Furthermore, personal testimonials from family members of both Jack and Yaya show us the robust support system they provide their queer children. Every member of both the families expresses their unconditional love for their children despite their identities, because at the end of the day, "all you need is fricking love".
'Jack & Yaya' is poignant and refreshing, and in that, it is a story of two lifelong friends who've been each other's pillar of support while growing up differently. It portrays the power of true friendship and familial bonding with an acute focus on themes of love, togetherness and acceptance. The documentary, which premiered at Toronto's Inside Out LGBT Film Festival last year, is written, produced and directed by Bagley and Mary Hewey. A Hewes Pictures release, 'Jack & Yaya' will be available On Demand from June 19 on Freedom Cinema LLC.
