SBIFF: ‘Outlaw’ first Russian film featuring transgender character

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Outlaw, the first-ever transgender feature film to be made and released internationally from Russia, has made its North American premiere at the 35th Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

The ground-breaking and controversial LGBTQ drama was written, produced and directed by Ksenia Ratushnaya. She joined FOX11 to talk about her film and the journey to make it.

ABOUT THE FILM: Written and directed by Ksenia Ratushnaya, OUTLAW tells the story of sex and love, rejection and acceptance, passion and depravity – for anyone pushed to the fringes of society, these emotions can often become indistinguishable. A gay teen and an enigmatic she-rebel try to win the love and attention of the same guy while a general and a transgender dancer in the mid-1980s put their careers and lives on the line in order to be together.