The winners are in for the 2020 edition of AFI Docs. “Transhood,” Sharon Liese’s portrait of four transgender kids living in Kansas City, was honored with the festival’s Audience Award for Best Feature. A press release announced the news.

In an interview with us, Liese described “Transhood” as a “rare window into the unique challenges trans parents face as they process and respond to factors they never gave any thought to previously. Each kid’s journey reveals powerful, inspiring, and even funny moments. They teach us all something new about being human,” she emphasized.

Liese said she loves to tell coming-of-age stories because “transformation over time is fascinating” to her. “When I met with the the Transgender Institute in Kansas City, I was immediately in awe of the people I met at support groups. I was especially drawn to the kids who were finding their voice and figuring out how to tell the world who they are,” the filmmaker recalled. “When I started filming five years ago, people knew even less than they do today about trans folks. I fell in love with the kids and their families immediately and wanted the world to see what I see in them.”

AFI Docs’ Audience Award for Best Short went to “Blackfeet Boxing: Not Invisible.” Directed by Kristen Lappas and Tom Rinaldi, the short explores how a group of Blackfeet women are responding to the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women by practicing and training in self-defense.

Barbara Attie, Janet Goldwater and Mike Attie’s “Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa” claimed the Grand Jury Prize for Short Films. The short sees counselors at an abortion fund in Philadelphia responding to calls from women and teens who want to end a pregnancy but can’t afford to.

AFI Docs went digital this year due to COVID-19. The lineup featured 59 films, with 61 percent directed by women, 25 percent by POC directors, and 14 percent by LGBTQ directors.