Jake Graf is an English actor, screenwriter, director, and transgender rights activist. Graf specializes in short films dealing with transgender issues in an effort to normalize queer and trans experiences to a wider, more mainstream audience.[1] Many of Graf's films emphasize the daily lived experiences of trans men.

Career

Graf's first work within the industry was a screenplay dealing with his experiences as a trans man in making a female-to-male transition.[2] In 2015, Graf visited the White House to take part in a Q&A and viewing of the film The Danish Girl with U.S. president Barack Obama.[3] That year, he became the first trans man to appear on the cover of QX magazine and, in the following year, was featured on the covers of GNI, LGBT Weekly, and FTM Magazine.[4] In 2015, Graf was one of 101 people nominated for a Rainbow Award, which recognizes prominent LGBT+ people in Britain. The nomination acknowledges Graf's work in raising awareness of trans and queer issues through film.[5] Alongside nominations for his work, Jake Graf has been included in judge positions for festivals and award ceremonies. In 2019, Graf took a chair in the Iris Prize Jury, an LGBTQ+ Film Festival.[6] Three years later, Graf also became a judge in the 2022 National Diversity Awards.[7]

Personal life

From the age of two, Graf knew that he was different from other kids. As a young child, he was very vocal about his feelings and tried telling anyone who would listen that he was a boy.[8] Graf spent much of his youth "trying my best just to 'pass' as male".[9] He has repeatedly talked about the importance of LGBTQ+ representation in the media. Graf believed he "was the only person in the world that felt like he did"[10] and did not know trans men existed until he was nearly 16.[9] This lack of representation that he experienced as a young person made him feel "lonely and isolated".[4] He decided to start transitioning in 2008 at the age of 28.[11] With the emotional and financial support of his mother, Graf started hormone treatment.[11]

Graf is married to Hannah Winterbourne. The couple went on a date on 30 December 2015 after being introduced by a mutual friend. After three years of dating and receiving Hannah's father's blessing, Graf proposed in New York in September 2017. Their wedding took place on 23 March 2018 at Chelsea Old Town Hall in London.[12] Approximately six years after starting transitioning, Graf decided to have his eggs frozen so that he would have the opportunity to have children in the future. In April 2020, their daughter was born via surrogate.[13] Two years later, the couple announced the birth of their second child in June 2022.[14]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2011 X-WHY Sam
Film director and producer		 Short film
Shown at 2012 BFI London Film Festival
Shortlisted for 2012 Iris Prize		 [15]
2012 Cocktale Film writer and director Short film Iris Prize Nominee 2012
2015 Brace Adam
Film writer		 Short film [16][17]
2015 The Danish Girl [18]
2015 Chance Film director and producer Short film [3]
2016 Dawn Film writer and director Short film
2017 Dusk Film writer and director Short film [3]
2017 Headspace Film writer and director Short film [19]
2018 Colette Gaston Arman de Caillavet [20]

Television

Year Title Role Notes Network Ref.
2017 Spectrum London James Roche 8 episodes Web Series
2017 Different for Girls Claude 1 episode
2018 Butterfly James 1 episode
2020 McDonald & Dodds Pathologist 1 episode BritBox
2021 Doctors Olly Brockhurst 1 episode BBC One [21]

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Work Result Ref.
2017 Changing Face International Film Festival Best Short Drama Dusk Won
2017 El Lugar Sin Limites Best Short Film Dusk Won
2017 FilmOut San Diego, US Best International Short Film Dusk Won
2017 Glitter Awards Best Short Film Dusk Won
2017 Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival Best of Festival Dusk Won
2017 Louisville LGBT Film Festival Short Film Dusk Won
2017 Macon Film Festival Best LGBT Short Dusk Won
2017 Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Best Short Dusk Won
2017 North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Best Trans International Short Dusk Won
2017 Out & Loud - Pune International Queer Film Festival Best Short Film Dusk Won
2017 OUT at the Movies Int'l LGBT Film Fest Best Short Film Dusk Won
2017 Out Here Now: the Kansas City LGBT Film Festival Best Dramatic Short Dusk Won
2017 Outflix Film Festival Best Foreign Short Dusk Won
2016 Best Foreign Short Dawn Won
2015 Best Foreign Short Chance Won
2016 Oxford Film Festival, Mississippi, USA Best LBGTQ Film Chance Nominated
2017 SENE Film, Music and Art Festival Best LGBT Short Dusk Won
LGBT Short Dusk Won
2016 Best LGBT Short Chance Won
2017 Shropshire Rainbow Film Festival Best British Short Film Dusk Won
2016 Stamped Pensacola LGBT Film Festival Best Short Film Boys on Film: Time & Tied Won
2017 Translations: The Seattle Transgender Film Festival Best Narrative Short Dusk Won

See also

    References

    1. ↑ Shiel, J. (1 July 2017). "It seems like a lot of people don't even know trans men exist". Gay Times.
    2. ↑ "The New Current". The New Current. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 Bennett-Hall, Naomi. "Jake Graf - Paving the Way for Trans Visibility". LGBT History Month Magazine UK. Archived from the original on 8 February 2016.
    4. 1 2 Hinde, N., Driscoll, B. (30 September 2015). "Jake Graf, Transgender Filmmaker And Cover Star, On Why Trans Men Need Greater Visibility In The Media". The Huffington Post UK.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    5. ↑ Morrison, S. (15 November 2015). "Rainbow List 2015: 1 to 101". The Independent.
    6. ↑ "JAKE GRAF - IRIS PRIZE JURY CHAIR 2019". irisprize.org. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
    7. ↑ "Jake Graf National Diversity Awards JUDGE (2022)". nationaldiversityawards.co.uk. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
    8. ↑ "Jake Graf On Why Trans Men Need More Visibility In The Media". HuffPost UK. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
    9. 1 2 Label, Ditch the (23 March 2018). "Jake Graf: "You will find your tribe and your people, friends that love and accept you for exactly who you are"". Ditch the Label. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
    10. ↑ "Interview: Jake Graf talks short films and trans representation". filmdoo.com/ (in Japanese). 11 July 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
    11. 1 2 "Transgender activists Hannah and Jake Graf welcome first baby via surrogate: 'We're in love'". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
    12. ↑ ""Growing up trans, I resigned myself to never finding love"". Cosmopolitan. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
    13. ↑ "Transgender parents Jake and Hannah Graf on what having a baby during a pandemic is really like". Glamour UK. 22 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
    14. ↑ Baska, Maggie (7 June 2022). "Trans parents explain why they're not raising their kids gender neutral". PinkNews. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
    15. ↑ "British Council Film: Jake Graf". film.britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
    16. ↑ Hoff, Victor. "Interview: Jake Graf". LGBT Weekly. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
    17. ↑ "Interview with sharp dressed Transgender Filmmaker Jake Graf". DapperQ: Transgressing Men's Fashion. 15 October 2015.
    18. ↑ Ebershoff, David (4 February 2020). "The Trans Actors Challenging Outmoded Ideas of Masculinity". T. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
    19. ↑ DeBolt, Virginia (22 February 2017). "Interview with Jake Graf, Creator of the Powerful Short 'Headspace'". Old Ain't Dead. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
    20. ↑ Fonseca, Sarah (21 September 2018). "This Trans Actor Plays a Cisgender Character in New Film 'Colette'". them. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
    21. ↑ Lamacraft, Tess. "'Doctors' spoilers: Daniel Granger is angry with Al". What to Watch. (Future plc). Retrieved 13 October 2021.
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