Red tape tangles up a transgender Russian woman in a name change
Yury Ovodov is a 49-year-old father of two. According to his passport, he’s a man. However, he’s never felt quite at ease with his sex. When he finally decided to transition into a woman, it alienated his family and damaged his career.
While relatives remain reluctant to accept his choice, Yury, who now calls himself Yulia Solovyeva, insists on wearing makeup, women’s clothes and high heels. Yulia also longs for sex reassignment surgery to rid of what she calls a “vestigial organ” and a new ID with a female name.
However, Yulia says she struggles to find a job that would pay for her surgery because of red tape that prevents her from getting a new passport. An RTD crew joins Yulia as she seeks acceptance from bureaucratic institutions, her family and herself.