Jennifer Lopez Shares Short Film About Her Transgender 'Nibling' Brendon
Jennifer Lopez’s latest teaser trailer tells a truly important story: that of her trans nibling, Brendon
With a star of Jennifer Lopez’s magnitude, we’ve grown accustomed to her releasing videos teasing her new (inevitably successful) projects. But her latest behind-the-scenes look of an upcoming film may just be the most poignant to date — and Lopez doesn’t even have a starring credit. Rather, the spotlight rests squarely on a family member near and dear to her heart.
On Sunday, Lopez took to Instagram to share the trailer for a forthcoming short film. “Brendon is my nibling and this is their story,” Lopez revealed, adding, “Draw With Me is a short film about accepting change and challenges with love knowing when we do everything is possible.”
In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, “nibling” is defined by Merriam-Webster as a gender-neutral term used to refer to a child of one’s sibling. So, instead of qualifying a person as a “niece” or nephew,” you could use the term “nibling” instead.
As Lopez explains before the clip plays, the film centers the experience of a trans youth and “their journey of coming out to their family and also engaging in their art to help them cope with the feelings they were having during this time.”
She also pointed out why it’s so salient and how she knows from personal experience, saying, “The film is important and timely in its story and message and can have a huge impact on those of us who watch and experience what Brendon and their family is going through in this time of acceptance and admission.”
In the film, which is directed by Constantine Venetopoulos in collaboration with The Trevor Project, Brendon chronicles how they struggled to come to terms with their own identity — and, subsequently, struggled to open up to their parents about it.
“My name’s Brendon. I use they/them/their pronouns. It was in eighth grade when I finally felt comfortable with saying that I’m trans,” they shared. Of that time, J.Lo’s sister Leslie Ann Lopez recalled finding Brendon’s chest binder in the wash. “I said, ‘Well, don’t you want to be a girl?’ And they kind of looked at me and said, ‘I’m not a girl, mom,’” Lopez recounted. “When my child told me, ‘When I look in the mirror, I don’t feel comfortable with the body I’m in’ … I mean, a lot of people can understand that.”
Brendon explains in the trailer how they turned to art to help them cope with being misgendered or judged for their gender identity. People like “Auntie Jen” — who posts about Brendon using the correct pronouns — helped them see their worth.
Now, the rest of the world will get to know and love Brendon the way J.Lo does. Her post didn’t include a release date, but sources say Draw With Me will debut at film festivals globally and via video-on-demand very soon.
