Let's make the queerest wildlife documentary ever

Understanding Myself as an Amphibian is a Queer ecology documentary that explores the sexual diversity of the wildlife around us. Director Maxwell Matchim (they/she) draws connections between these incredible species and their own journey accepting their Trans identity. The title is a reference to the green frog, an amphibian which is able to change its sex as it matures.

This film explores a variety of animal and plant subjects, including same-sex bird parents raising chicks together, and a group of salamanders that's entirely female. This film also explores the exclusionary attitudes in biology and conservation throughout time, and how these attitudes have influenced our understanding of animal behaviour.

With this film, Maxwell hopes to help encourage Queer and Trans viewers to develop a stronger relationship with the natural world. Historically, we've been excluded from outdoor spaces and faced discrimination within the biological and environmental sciences. She hopes this project is able to address these continuing barriers through on-camera representation and the celebration of Queer wildlife. In this way, Queer and Trans viewers can see their experiences reflected on screen. By understanding ourselves through the lens of biodiversity, the film suggests that we extend community to non-human animals and develop a queer liberation framework that includes the ecological.

Promos:

I was recently interviewed on an episode of the podcast "To Know The Land" about this project.

Listen Here

Watch my Queer Ecology Webinar with the Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust, including a discussion of the film.

Watch Here

Read my article about the sexual diversity of birds in the summer 2024 edition of OFO News (pages 18-19 and 24).

Read Here

About the Director:

Maxwell Matchim (they/she is an artist and naturalist based in Toronto. They have a BA in Film Production from York University, and are a graduate of Fleming College's Environmental Visual Communications post-grad program. They're a a part of the Events and Education Committee of the Toronto Feminist Bird Club. She's completed a communications placement at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, participated in Blanding's turtle nesting surveys, and worked at the Royal Ontario Museum. When they're not looking for birds or wildflowers, they like listening to 60s pop and making fibre art.

Poster by the wonderfully talented Bird Warde.

This embroidered patch was included with the Junior Lesbian Ranger Handbook by artists Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan.

Bison and bidaughter at the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg.

We got to shoot at some amazing places in New York City, including Jacob Riis Beach, Jamaica Bay, Ridgewood Reservoir, and Greenwich Village, as well as taking place in the annual Dyke March.

Filming at the collections of the Canadian Museum of Nature in Gatineau Quebec.

This salamander were spotted during its spring migration to a vernal pool.

On location at Algonquin Provincial Park, January 2024.