EVERY BODY is a revelatory investigation of the lives of intersex people. The film tells the stories of three individuals who have moved from childhoods marked by shame, secrecy, and non-consensual surgeries, to a thriving adulthood after each decided to set aside medical advice to keep their bodies a secret and instead came out as their authentic selves.

Actor and screenwriter River Gallo (they/them), political consultant Alicia Roth Weigel (she/they), and Ph.D. student Sean Saifa Wall (he/him) are now leaders in a fast-growing global movement advocating for greater understanding of the intersex community and an end to unnecessary surgeries. Woven into the story is a stranger-than-fiction case of medical abuse, featuring exclusive footage from the NBC News archives, which helps explain the modern-day treatment of intersex people.

It is estimated that up to 1.7% of the world’s population is born with intersex traits, according to The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The term intersex is used to describe people born with physical sex characteristics that do not fit typical definitions of male or female. These traits may be evident at birth, emerge at puberty, or become apparent later in life.

Academy Award® nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker Julie Cohen (RBG) directed the project alongside producers Tommy Nguyen and Molly O’Brien and consulting producer Shana Knizhnik. Executive Producers are Elizabeth Fischer, Liz Cole, Noah Oppenheim and Andy Berg. 

“I’m so excited for people to see Saifa, Alicia, and River’s mind-blowing and empowering life stories,” said Cohen. “To partner with Focus Features and my longtime friends at NBC News Studios to bring this movie to the world is both an honour and a thrill.”

Knizhnik commented, “As an intersex person who was – like Saifa, Alicia, and River – kept in the dark about my own body for far too long, I am thrilled that this film will shine a spotlight on their stories, and the story of our entire community. In a time when false conceptions of ‘biology’ are being weaponized like never before, this film shows once and for all that life is so much more than XX and XY, and that is a beautiful thing.”

“NBC News Studios is honoured to present this underrepresented and misunderstood community with such compelling stories,” said Molly O’Brien, Head of Documentary. “We’re thrilled to collaborate again with our wonderful partners at Focus Features and with our long-time colleague Julie Cohen, whose ease and dexterity as a director, and ability to always find the love, truly set her films apart.”

Added Kiska Higgs, President of Production & Acquisitions at Focus Features, “Focus is proud to distribute a second film with our colleagues and friends at NBC News Studios, helmed by the wonderful Julie Cohen. Our collective hope is that EVERY BODY furthers understanding around what it can mean to be intersex, a significant part of the population far too long excluded from conversation.”

Available from Focus Features and NBC News Studios

 

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.