The documentary “Mala Mala” follows the story of a number of transgender women living and fighting for rights in Puerto Rico. It premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, but had trouble finding U.S. distribution until Strand Releasing nabbed it for a summer 2015 release here in the states. Now “Mala Mala” is going international, with a number of countries and territories releasing the film on VOD platforms in December.
As the official Tribeca synopsis details, “Mala Mala” is a “vibrant and visually striking immersion in the transgender community of Puerto Rico, [which] celebrates the breadth of experiences among trans-identifying women: from campaigning for government-recognized human rights, to working in the sex industry, to performing as part of the drag troupe ‘The Doll House.’ Unapologetic and unconventional, ‘Mala Mala’ explores the ways internal and external identity pave the path of self discovery through the unique yet universal stories of its fascinating cast of characters.”
“Mala Mala” came in second for the Audience Award at Tribeca 2014, and won Best Documentary at the 2015 Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, the 2014 Puerto Rico Queer FilmFest, and the 2014 Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival, as well as Outstanding Documentary at the GLAAD Media Awards.
“I’ve always felt enormously guilty when messages arrive in our inbox from queer kids as far as Malaysia asking where they can rent the film, only to not have an answer to give them,” said co-director Dan Sickles. “After receiving the list of territories and release dates from our distributor, I broke down with relief and pride.”
While the good news is that “Mala Mala” will get an international audience, the announcement is a bittersweet one for a number of countries where homosexuality is still illegal, to say nothing of being transgender. As Sickles told us, “Mala Mala” being released in countries like Uganda, Zimbabwe, Turkmenistan, Lithuania, and Grenada, where persecution of the LGBT community is still especially pronounced, will hopefully help spread tolerance and compassion in countries that may hold retrograde laws.
“Mala Mala” will hit iTunes and Google’s streaming platform in a variety of countries between December 5 and 19. All countries are listed below, so keep an eye out between those dates if you live in one of these places.
iTunes: Anguilla, Armeni,a Antigua and Barbuda, Swaziland, Belize, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Guinea-bissau, Uganda, Cayman Island,s Saint Kitts And Nevis, British Virgin Islands, Namibia, Gambia, Tajikistan, Mozambique, Belarus, Mauritius, Turkmenistan, Cape Verde, Niger, Botswana, Israel, Zimbabwe, Belgium, Luxembourg, Brunei, Vietnam, Philippines, Italy, United Kingdom, Mongolia, Fiji, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Cambodia, Thailand, Micronesia, Laos, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Japan, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela, France, and Spain.
Google streaming: Belgium, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, France, Switzerland, and Spain.
