Maya Newell is a Director and Impact Producer.

She directed the acclaimed feature In My Blood It Runs (2019) about ten-year-old Arrernte/Garrwa boy Dujuan and his community made in collaboration with those onscreen at Closer Productions.

It was selected for Goodpitch² Aus, a Sundance Institute Fellowship, was nominated for Best Doc/Best Cinematography at the AACTAs, won Best Director at the ADG awards.

The families onscreen led a multi-year impact campaign targeting juvenile justice, education and anti-racism.

Maya’s first feature doc Gayby Baby was cocreated with Charlotte Mars and screened at festivals internationally and sparked a national conversation in Australia about the rights of children raised in LGBTQIA+ families.

Maya’s latest film is The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone.

Spanning nineteen years, The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone takes us into the world of Georgie Stone, an Australian transgender teen as she helps changes laws, affirms her gender and finds her voice. It’s the day of Georgie’s gender affirmation surgery.

As her family lovingly wait, we learn Georgie’s life story. Until this point, tumultuous change has consumed Georgie’s life – she has helped change laws, her family and society – yet remarkably Georgie’s coherence of self, from toddler to 18 yrold, is undeniable.

Told through intimately accessed footage as well as a trove of beautiful home-shot video, this is a portrait of a remarkable life told as a study in memory, glimpsing significant moments of joy, triumph and fight.

Made in collaboration with Georgie herself, this is the story of a childhood under siege and a loving family who stood strong behind their daughter, offering a strong case for the agency of transgender children and teenagers to make their own decisions about their gender identity.

As Georgie emerges into adulthood, she can finally imagine, hope and dream of her future self.

“It was clear that Georgie was an incredible person who had, and has, so much to teach the world about identity, the expansive spectrum of gender, about determination, how to love, listen and the importance of accepting each other for who we are.”

Article by Maya Newell

I’ve been making this short film for six years. Back in 2015, I’d just finished releasing my first feature documentary Gayby Baby about the experiences of children raised in LGBTIQA+ families like my own. As Australia pushed for marriage equality it was us – children of LGBTIQA+ parents and transgender kids that were being used by conservative campaigns in arguments in their NO campaigns when they evoked the call to “think of the children”. In a move to placate these conservatives Gayby Baby was banned by the then NSW state government from being shown in schools, an action which erupted into an ugly national debate about the worth of my family. The subsequent coverage was intense, but provided us with a powerful platform to push back against the hate our community was experiencing. It was devastating, but alongside the kids in Gayby Baby we centred our lived experience and made a huge contribution to the eventual progressive legislation – YES to marriage equality won in 2019. Making that film, I learnt how children can be used as political footballs and often spoken for and lead by paternalistic assumptions. Gayby Baby showed just how powerful it can be when those children have a genuine platform to use their voices themselves and speak their truths to power.

I met Georgie, Rebekah and the family when Georgie was 14 years old. She was so confident and extremely articulate about who she was and all that she’d been through. It was both disarming, and admirable to meet a young person with such clarity and warmth. It was clear that Georgie was an incredible person who had, and has, so much to teach the world about identity, the expansive spectrum of gender, about determination, how to love, listen and the importance of accepting each other for who we are.

After agreeing to start the process of filming over the following six years, I capture moments big and small throughout Georgie’s teenhood. I’d walk in the front door and Beck or Georgie would make a cup of tea, we’d sit at the kitchen bench and recount the past three to six months – how the legal case was going, Georgie’s new friends at school, how the medical treatment was feeling, school assignments, advocacy events, and even Georgie’s fave singers on the pop charts… A rollercoaster of excitement, exhaustion, euphoria, triumph and grief. Initially we filmed without a specific outcome in mind, not knowing what form the film would take, but all the time knowing there was something powerful in the works.

What struck me so poignantly, and what kept making me return with my camera over the years, was just how beautiful, close and connected Georgie’s whole family was. And how even with the full support of her family, Georgie still had to face challenges to her very personhood, her bodily autonomy and human rights that were enraging.

Discovering the trove of beautiful home movie footage collected by parents Greg and Rebekah since the twins Harry and Georgie were born was an utter delight. What was remarkable was Georgie’s strong sense of self, from a toddler right through her life. It was unwavering. I felt that this footage told an important story in the face of those who say than trans and gender diverse children cannot know themselves at such a young age. It revealed an undeniable case for the agency of trans and gender diverse children to be allowed the autonomy they deserve, to determine their gender identity and lead decisions that are about them, their bodies, identities and lives.

Throughout the years, trans, gender diverse and non-binary young people and their families were (and still are) consistently being presented from a deficit position in the media. Everyone seems to be talking about them, but rarely do children have space to speak about their own experiences. It became increasingly clear that Georgie wanted to use the footage we had shot to make a beautiful film, a collaborative venture, a story that offered space for Georgie to speak in a society that only ever talks about her.

We set out to make that film together.

Through this intimate process Georgie and her family have taught me about love. They are the kind of family love where you listen deeply, accept and support each other to be your best selves. They did this as a family time and time again and as well as sharing that love inside their family Georgie and her family chose to support other trans youth and their families by tackling legislative change and public opinion. They took on the Family Court to win access to puberty blockers for all trans children in Australia, and in 2017 Georgie Young Victorian of the Year which created a platform and position to speak directly with government ministers, media and other significant leaders about urgent medical services needed to support kids and teens like her.

Of course this film cannot, and does not tell a story that represents all trans people – their experiences are multifaceted and expansive. If you have met one trans person you have met one trans person. This film is a story of one person, her life, memories and fight to take on the systems that have oppressed her. In making this film we hope it contributes to a media landscape where more trans people and their stories burst through and proliferate our screens into the future.

I want to thank Closer Productions and producers Sophie Hyde, Matt Bate, Lisa Sherrard, editor Bryan Mason and impact producer Alex Kelly for all their creative guidance and contribution to this film. While only short, it’s been a monster effort to make, and I feel deep gratitude to have so many great minds around me, and nudging me and allowing this story to bloom.

The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone is available to watch on Netflix now. 

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