Actor Will Ferrell premiered his new documentary Will & Harper at the Sundance Film Festival, which explores his relationship with a longtime friend who identifies as transgender.
Speaking with Variety Studio presented by Audible, Ferrell discussed how his friend, Harper Steele, came out as transgender several years ago and the process he went through to be more supportive. Harper previously worked as a writer on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2008 and the two became friends.
Throughout the interview, Ferrel referred to Harper by preferred pronouns and even referred to himself and others as members of the “cis community.”
“It was three summers ago in which Harper emailed a lot of her close friends with the headline: ‘Here’s a Weird One,’” Ferrell said. “She went on to explain she was going to transition and we were all of course excited to hear the news and surprised to hear the news. All of us were extremely supportive and expressed love…but that sort of opened the questions like, how can we help you? What do you need us to do?”
Ferrell admitted to having “zero knowledge” of the trans community prior to Harper’s revelation, which motivated him to set out on a quest of understanding.
“I had met trans people, but I didn’t have anyone personally in my life,” Ferrell said. “So this was all new territory for me, which is why I think this film is so exciting for us to kind of put out there in the world. It’s a chance for all of us in the cis community to be able to ask questions and also just to listen and be there as a friend to discuss this journey.”
Harper added that the movie “tells the story of a cis friend of a trans person who has to transition himself.”
The official synopsis for the film describes it as follows: “When Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship in an intimate portrait of friendship, transition, and America.”
The documentary will be seeking distribution at the Sundance Film Festival.
Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.