ATTAGIRL! (2025), directed by Klimovski, is a stylized fever dream that revels in the complexities of the Trans Femme existence. The short draws from the auditory and visual aesthetics of Queer films like Paris Is Burning (1990) and the color grading of 70’s exploitation films, while remaining firmly rooted in contemporary Trans realities.
Featuring Leyna Bloom, Amanda Lepore & Violet Chacki act as an almost Three Fates of Trans ferocity: The film presents Gender Euphoria not as an inactive condition but as an act of resistance. Via its lush, inner-city-sharpened aesthetics, catchy soundtrack, and unwavering devotion to the Trans Femme, ATTAGIRL! reminds us that retribution, anger, and joy can serve as acts of self-devotion.
The film’s protagonist, Siren, floats through the boroughs with a Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1956) fury and a Carrie Bradshaw-esque ease. Siren is striking, determined, and utterly unwilling to suffer the rudimentary games of simple men. She is a woman in search of restitution from the likes of a swindling dealer who robbed her of her coins. And as the tagline says, “They say payback’s a bitch—turns out she’s got a name.”
On her journey to regain what is hers, she takes a moment to walk the avenue, allowing her presence to be fully known and admired. Gliding with an Aphrodite-fueled dignity and freedom, basking in sunlight, she becomes a living affirmation that Trans women deserve not only to be acknowledged without violence but to be visibly adored.
Still underneath the glamour and grit of this short, as a Trans person, I am painfully reminded of our political climate. Where Trans bodies are viciously targeted, legislated against, and scapegoated by an administration hellbent on killing those they do not seek to understand.
Still, ATTAGIRL! embraces generational Trans sisterhood and the idea that Trans rage is a necessary sibling to Trans joy. Each character uses this duality as a refusal to be exploited, cheated, or denied what is rightfully theirs. This punchy tale gifts a vision of Trans vitality that is playful, unapologetic, and true to life—reminding audiences that Queer Liberation is not only about being allowed to exist but also about demanding the fullness of life, with all the glamour, desire, and righteous fury that entails.
