Launching on Instagram with distribution partner Minus18 on Sunday, August 20, Unerased is a raw, unfiltered and authentic coming-of-age documentary series filmed by the participants themselves (via their phones) in 17 short episodes that will drop each Monday and Friday.
It is intended that Unerased will spark conversation, encourage social change and for the trans teen experience to be discussed and shown by the very people who are trans teenagers.
“Elevating the voices of LGBTQIA+ young people is at the heart of everything we do at Minus18, so we are honoured to be a distribution partner for the Unerased series, which captures the real experiences of queer young people Australia,” says Adrian Murdoch, Minus18 Strategic Relationships Lead.
With a diverse cast aged between 16 and 18 years and from all across Australia, each episode is between three and four minutes long. Episode 1 features G-Flip’s music track “You & I”.
Screen Australia’s Head of Online and Games, Lee Naimo said, “We are proud to be supporting the talented team behind Unerased as they deliver this powerful series to the world. By embracing the vlogging format, the programs nine extraordinary young people become not only subjects but valued collaborators, to tell and shape their own stories. Unerased aims to spark vital conversations as it shares with audiences the joys, challenges, and hopes of growing up transgender in Australia today, and I can’t wait to see this unfiltered and compelling series when it airs.”
VicScreen CEO Caroline Pitcher says, “Unerased is a powerful coming-of-age record, which aligns with VicScreen’s work to champion homegrown talent who are from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in screen. We are proud to support this compelling documentary series, which explores complex themes including identity and representation.”
Director and writer AP Pobjoy (they/them) along with executive producer and producer Rob Innes (he/him) and producer Bonny Scott (she/her) selected the engaging cast members after a social media call out attracted almost 100 applications in under 48 hours.
Pobjoy says the idea for Unerased came about in 2022, as the world continued to debate the lives of transgender people and in particular, transgender high school students. They set out to give young trans people a voice to be heard and to empower them to document their own stories.
Their concept was to send the nine young people off to vlog their lives via their mobile phone cameras, sharing their vulnerable, brave and honest stories of growing up through the year.
Says Pobjoy, “What came out of this process was not only the innate real-life challenges of the trans experience, but also that of joy, hope and regular teenage life almost everyone can understand.
“The truth that despite our differences, we are all on the journey to become and be recognised as our true selves.
“The vlogging format became a key tool in that our participants aren’t just subjects, but valued collaborators and ‘owning’ their stories.”
“This series sets out to break down assumptions and offer new perspectives that the general public may not be privy to, and to help create understanding and acceptance. The hope is for all young people, whether cis or trans, queer or straight to see themselves in this documentary.
“I hope they can all feel inspired to become the best and most authentic versions of who they are.”
The production is also supported by Transgender Victoria and Project RockIt, who both have contributed to the well-being of the cast and the impact strategy.
Unerased is a Mashup Pictures Production, with Principal Production Funding from Screen Australia. It was produced with the assistance of VicScreen.
