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MALTATODAY 1 September 2019

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11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 SEPTEMBER 2019 CULTURE ENVIRONMENT TRANSFORMAZZJONI TRANSCENDENCE TRANS VISIBILITY INTRANSIGENT TRADITUR ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ With the onset of autumn, nature starts to stir, and what better place to observe this than in a nature reserve! As our winged summer residents start leaving for Africa, others trav- elling from Europe are already flying in to feed and rest in the groves and reedbeds at Għadira nature reserve. Għadira is the oldest nature reserve in the country, saved by BirdLife Malta from massive beach development in the nick of time way back in the 1980s. Today the small 7ha wetland harbours a brackish lagoon surrounded by dune and saltmarsh, rare habitats that are home to rare plants and animals, such as the Mediterra- nean killifish. The site also attracts many migratory birds, with over 150 species recorded there every year. Għadira is now al- so open for visits (Mon + Thu 2pm–7pm and Sat 10am–4pm). Entrance is free, donations welcome. More details and events at www.birdlifemalta.org Text and Photo: Victor Falzon 676. GHADIRA NATURE RESERVE Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 575: Find out more and try our delicious recipe: www.foemalta.org/goodfood lar entertainment of yore and its currently more gentrified counterpart, something the LGBTIQ community is cer- tainly not immune to either, with popular entertainment venues and corporate entities now happy to virtue-signal their way into the community and provide a slick sheen to the proceedings as a result. TRANSformazzjoni al- lows a range of experiences to quietly seep through in- stead, leaving us with a re- freshingly humane portrayal of the participants that's free from hyperbole and melo- drama. It's an approach that also makes for sometimes all-too-comforting view- ing, however. Brenda admits to being a tough cookie, so much so that any reactionary attitudes she may have faced in the past, she's managed to brush off. But that wasn't the case for all of her friends: "If you were a bit weak, you'd end up hurting". Any follow- up documentary would do well to pursue some of those who were more deeply hurt by bigotry in the past, if only to add the necessary weight of historical context to the trans struggle in Malta. However, it is also true that Olywn Jo's desire to ride a celebratory wave of newfound rights for trans people on the island is welcome, moving the narrative firmly away from the exploitative, sad-piano pitfalls of misery porn, the kind the likes of Xarabank traditionally love to bask in. Struggles are acknowledged, but the participants are ul- timately depicted as people who are now proud to identi- fy within their chosen strand of the vast trans spectrum. A dedicated activist for Movi- ment Graffitti, Alex speaks candidly about the ideological (but also deeply visceral) con- flict that his gender dysphoria evokes: being a staunch femi- nist, how should he feel about wanting to have the body of a man? Meanwhile, the non-bi- nary identifying Reb, a native of Gozo, says that more work needs to be done on the sister island too: there, even simply being gay remains somewhat taboo. The verdict Ringing a celebra- tory note as Malta's le- gal breakthroughs for LGBTIQ rights actually – finally – allow them to speak openly about their journeys, the five individuals that make up TRANSformazzjoni paint an engaging and hopeful picture for what lies ahead. TRANSformazzjoni will be screened at Spazju Kreattiv Cinema at St James Cavalier, Valletta on September 6 at 8pm, as part of Pride Week. The screening will be followed by a Q&A ses- sion with director Olywn Jo and some of the film's participants. Entrance is free but booking is required: https://www. kreattivita.org/ ★ ★ ★ TRANSFORMAZZJONI ( N / A )

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