A sort of diary, recorded on a Sony Handycam and stored on VHS tapes, offers a patchwork of images and sounds that is also a deeply personal statement and a date with the protagonist, who is there from beginning to end, sharing his/her story.

We watch as it is said, “one more night with Trans girls at work”  and daily routine recordings from years ago through which we learn how young Mauricio/Maxima was born and had a family in Argentina, where he/she dreamed about money and a glamorous life,  and moved to the United States of America to live in Miami, Chicago, and New York City,  to work hard for the money with his body.

The documentary shows memories of youth with the protagonist’s beloved ones through grainy film and vintage photos. Three decades of recordings cover 1994, 1999, 2001, up to the 2020s pandemic months when the tapes are found and the digging into the past begins, and up to the present; as a result, this invitation to intimacy may turn us, viewers, into voyeurs.

The film explores memory and trans resilience. Water is a constant, from a childhood Argentine river to the Atlantic Ocean; waters flow all the way, as does Mauricio/Maxima, who becomes a co-creator, with a place behind and in front of the camera, letting his/her voice and personal archive guide the narrative.

Chilean director Nicole Costa, in her second feature documentary, delivers a river of images with references to freedom, political resistance, queer self-determination, and emotional healing.