In Luchina Fisher’s The Dads, a group of fathers with trans and nonbinary children gets together to offer support to each other but also to figure out how to confront an increasingly hostile environment within the United States that seems to only be getting worse. This follow-up to Fisher’s Emmy-winning short film of the same name is a showcase of how unconditional love truly is triumphant, but it also doesn’t shortchange the real danger of the situation in its exploration of its showcased families.
Awards Buzz spoke to Fisher about how this story came back to her after she thought she was done with it:
“While I was at the Emmys accepting the award, the fathers had gathered for a second retreat, and the film really sparked them to create a movement of dads from around the country to support them and support them supporting their trans and gender-expansive kids. Stephen Chikumba, who was one of the original dads in the short, had the foresight to say, I’m just going to film this retreat, and then he shared the footage with me and was really pushing me to come on board. I was really excited to do more. A lot of people had asked for more. They wanted to see more with the dads. Originally, we were just planning to cover this burgeoning movement that they were creating and go home with them and meet their families and their children. And then the political landscape changed, and suddenly the film and the story had a new urgency. We realized that these dads, a lot of them, were having to choose between country and family, and some ultimately decided to leave the country. So we decided, all of us together, that we should keep filming, and the result is the feature film that will be premiering at SXSW.”
Watch the video above to hear more about sharing these stories, protecting those who weren’t sure they wanted to be involved, and whether there’s more to explore for Fisher with this subject.
The Dads makes its world premiere in the Documentary Spotlight at the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival.
