8% of U.S. adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender according to an Oct 2025 Pew Research Center article based on a summer 2024 survey. There are reportedly over 342 million people living in the United States, which means that the 8% accounts for around 27 million people. Of the U.S. population, the Williams Institute reported that roughly 2.8 million people (aged 13+) identify as transgender, with 724,000 people being age 13 – 17. This is a minuscule portion of the U.S. population, yet, if one were to only listen to lawmakers, you’d think there was a gender explosion happening, rather than an increase due to existing in a time and place where lived experiences are more easily shared and heard across the globe and terminology is more accessible. The trans community is quite literally small and growing smaller all the time with the rise of Draconian laws powered by religious demagoguery, ignorance, and fear. Because of this, preserving what community you can becomes vital to everyday life and longevity. In 2023, filmmaker Luchina Fisher (Mama Gloria) released the short film The Dads, an 11-minute film highlighting a small gathering of dads of trans and non-binary youth who strive to be the support system that general society fails to offer. Now, having its world premiere in the Spotlight section of SXSW 2026, the feature-length version, also titled The Dads, not only shines a light on these present parents, but also on the battles they’ve been waging in order to give their kids a fighting chance to see tomorrow.
Wayne Maines in the documentary THE DADS. Photo courtesy of Little Light Productions.
In 2022, a group of fathers had their first Dad Retreat, creating an opportunity for community, support, and healing that many realized they were unable to find elsewhere. These fathers are not only grappling with their own perceptions of what fatherhood is and what society expects of them, but also what it looks like to be a present father for children who see the world and themselves differently and, most importantly, acknowledge within themselves their gender orientation, gender expression, and gender identification which go against social norms. Through a collection of stats, talking head interviews, and captured footage (new and archival), we observe The Dads for a brief period as they tackle the unnecessarily turbulent political landscape to provide a safe upbringing for their children, even if it means taking on the law.
L-R: Christoph Heinzer, Stephen Chukumba, and Carlos Salazar at Gender Liberation March in the documentary THE DADS. Photo courtesy of Little Light Productions.
Chances are, if you’re watching The Dads or are interested in it, you are most likely a member of the LGBTQIA+ community or ally. However, Fisher smartly makes zero presumptions about what the audience does or does not know (or even whether you’ve seen the original short), beginning with a cute opening of a few dads fishing and chatting, their disparate self-expression setting a tone for what follows, before providing stats on both the organization and the trans community. This approach establishes that neither conformity nor fringe is the point of The Dads, just individual honesty and acceptance. If you were to place Stephen Chukumba, Wayne Maines, and David Parr next to each other anywhere else, that wouldn’t look like they were be members of an overlapping group, yet, here, in this joyful moment of three men fishing, there’s nothing but humanity on display. In all the footage of the Dads that follows, there’s no discussion of child mutilation, of purposeful self-harm, or any of the other fear-encoded buzzwords that are propped up by the ill-informed, scientifically illiterate, and historically ignorant few whose loud speakers are driving the current course of hate-speech and law-drafting. Instead, what you’ll hear is parents navigating uncertain waters, sharing worries about their children’s future, not understanding why people hate their children or wish them harm (as was the case with Maines’s daughter Nicole and others within the group), and discovering a safe place to drop the shackles of generations of misogyny and to just be people. This is one of the unexpected revelations of the film — the absolute freedom that these parents feel being in a space without judgement, where they can come together with their peers and express their joys and fears without any kind of prejudice. The cinematography in these moments makes one feel as though we’re right in the space with them, whether it’s a sharing circle, a meal, or group activity; Fisher, as director, ensures that we can feel the enormous weight of the members’ responsibilities and the release communing together provides.
A scene from documentary THE DADS. Photo courtesy of Little Light Productions.
Intercut with these moments are introductions to several of The Dads who we then follow across several years. Each Dad comes from a different background, few are from the same state, and each has a different-yet-similar experience of struggle. The talking head interviews don’t meet the typical standard info-dump expectation as each interviewee seems quite forthright with talking about who they were before their child(ren) expressed interest in changing gender expression or identification, including how they handled it and how their desire to be present for their kid(s) forced them to confront biases within themselves some didn’t realize they had. Right now, the loudest voices have convinced so many that forceful tamping down of self-expression and self-identification is the way to lead a healthy life with even the mildest forms of gender identity (see: pronouns) scrutinized; however, these Dads appear old enough to have been children of the 1980s and 1990s, when “coming out” was still new. They likely saw what happened to their friends, to their loved ones, and may have even taken part in the worst of the era as it was seen as commonplace and normal to use certain language or hold specific views. Even film favorite Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) includes a groan-worthy inclusion of the F-word from its otherwise wholesome leads because of how male-on-male affection was viewed at the time. These Dads are the by-products of a time that isn’t as far away as it seems, making the choice by Fisher to show them wrestling with their own failings and the active choice to meet the moment their children deserve one of profound hope — an aspect that becomes all the more necessary as the Biden Administration gives way to the second Trump Administration and the promises of withholding gender-affirming care from those who need it are pushed further toward fruition.
A scene in the documentary THE DADS. Photo courtesy of Little Light Productions.
Fisher puts together a feature film whose chronology follows the rise of extra-judicial overreach by the (former) party of small government and the coming together of Dads for the sake of their children and themselves. In truth, as much as the children are a central part of the doc in terms of motivation, they are not the focus, and rightly so. This is about how the current generation of Dads are struggling to overcome the limitations placed on them by their parents and society at large while simultaneously teaching themselves how to empathize for and respect their kids as autonomous beings — beings who are in touch with who they are, who are not following a fad or trend nor trying to rebel; they just want to be able to be who they feel they are. While some paramecium brain can likely come up with some non-event, imagined example, members of the trans community aren’t coming for anyone other than themselves. They, like all the heteronormies out there, merely want the ability to self-determine without government intervention, fear of criminal offense, or any limp-dicked application of power in order to control a populace. The Dads moves one to tears as the footage of these families trying to navigate legal disruptions or just have an average young adult experience is intercut with these Dads coming together to laugh and cry, which is intercut with more and more news footage of bans and new stats regarding the size of the trans community and how many have left the U.S. since November 2024.
Fathers of trans kids gather from across the U.S. for a weekend retreat in Maine in 2024. Photo Credit: Ukachi Arinzeh. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Yet, as the tears flow, one doesn’t feel defeat; rather, frustration, anger, and purpose. One doesn’t have to share genetic code with a child to be their parent and all of us can become Dads. If there was ever a time to adopt such a way of thinking, it’s when one of the smallest minorities in the country (many of whom are minors) need someone to step up and say “enough”.
Screening during SXSW 2026.
For more information, head to the official SXSW The Dads webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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