20,000 Species of Bees

DVD Features

Discs: 1

• Highest Rating
  "The Grand Jury prize for the Official Competition goes to 20,000 Species of Bees, a thoughtful coming of age story that uses small, relatable moments to navigate a trans awakening, and a family’s journey to understanding. Led by the unforgettable Sofía Otero, in their feature film debut, the remarkable ensemble cast guides the audience through the experience of acceptance."
  SIFF 2023 Jury Statement
• Highest Rating
  "[T]his moving chronicle of an 8-year-old’s gradual transitioning, and the effect it has on a family over their summer vacation, manages to be both timely and timeless, making its hot-button issue feel like part of a larger, spiritual cycle of life and loss. Carried by impressively fluid, determinedly naturalistic filmmaking, with performances that never hit a false note, 20,000 Species of Bees marks an assured debut..."
  Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter
• Highest Rating
  "Extraordinary for its sensitivity and perception, Estibollz Urresolo Sologuren’s story of an 8-year-old girl’s growing discomfort with being perceived as a boy is a landmark in the filmic discussion of gender, sexuality and identity. "
  Deborah Young, The Film Verdict
• Highest Rating
  "[A]n engaging, authentic, moving film about the way society persists in seeing monsters where there are none."
  Lee Marshall, Screen Daily
• Highest Rating
  "There’s gentleness and delicacy in this heartfelt family drama. A warm and generously performed film."
  Peter Bradshaw, Guardian
• Highest Rating
  "Otero’s performance in the lead is utterly winning...."
  Guy Lodge, Variety
• Highest Rating
  "It is, at its heart, a film about a child’s attempts to be heard and seen for who they are, so much of [Otero's] performance hinges on powerful moments of quiet introspection where swirling emotions – shame and frustration largely amongst them – are often verbally repressed, while still playing out on her face...20,000 Species of Bees is a touching, beautiful and sensitive film with the potential of making a significant dent in the current hateful discourse from some quarters about transgender children – if only they had it in their heart to watch it."
  Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Alliance of Women Film Journalists
• Highest Rating
  "One of the most sensitive, honest, and easily recollectable on-screen portrayals of gender dysphoria and growing up trans."
  Mattie Lucas, In Review Online
• Highest Rating
  "[I]ts socio-political commentary and the sensitivity with which it depicts Lucía’s story of gender identity offers a compassion that is too rarely seen in reality, making its impact more profound."
  Caitlin Quinlan, Little White Lies
• Highest Rating
  "The beauty of this film is that Solaguren never tries to inflate Lucia’s confusion or discomfort with her mismatched body into a banner issue."
  Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline
• Highest Rating
  "It’s a lovely movie, which stands entirely on Ms. Otero’s small shoulders; and she carries it with a calm unusual in a child. Her acting prize was well deserved."
  Sarah Manvel, Critic's Notebook