Panama’s Official Submission for Best Foreign Picture Oscar is Arturo Montenegro’s ‘Everybody Changes’ about how a middle -class family survives after the father decides to transition into a woman.

Federico (Arantxa de Juan) is a happily married businessman with a wife and three sons living in a very small Panamanian town.   His wife Carol ((Gaby Gnazzo) has always known about his penchant for wearing women’s clothes  and has supported him by going on a  weekly date with him where they are just two girls together hanging out and having fun.

However when Frederico decides he wants to become Lizzie full time, it is too much for Carol to take. She already suffered a blow when Frederica came home one night unexpectedly as Lizzie and was confronted by a surprise party with all of this conservative neighbours in attendance.  Now that he insists on going as far as having gender reassignment surgery, Carol throws him out and is left alone to deal with their three sons’ anger and bewilderment at their father’s new life.

Montenegro’s film almost has a documentary feel to it as he details how this conservative Catholic community that through sheer ignorance  are violently transphobic as they feel that this is a threat to both their beliefs and their very lives.  It ensures that Lizzie must be tougher than most as the only support that she is likely to get is from her therapist as even her doctors refuse to her with her journey.

Lizzie’s oldest son is the one in the family that struggles most with his father’s decision, and it is a tribute to both the parents that had always instilled so much love in the family that he not only comes around in the end but offers to accompany Lizzie when she flies to Thailand for her major surgery 

There is nothing really new about this tale but it is filled with compassion and understanding for Lizzie, and the superbly  authentic performance from de Juan  makes it such compelling view.

Any film like this that makes an important contribution to the continuing dialogue about the transgender community should be added to your ‘must see’ list and shared as much as possible .