Instructions for Survival (Georgian/Russian) (Documentary)

Instructions for Survival is an exquisite documentary portrait and a profoundly honest window into one couple’s struggle to live openly. Set in Georgia, we see the life and struggles of a trans man, trying olive his life, be at constant risk of people finding out. Even though, now it's no longer illegal to be gay in this East European country, and trans people are theoretically protected from discrimination, there are all sorts of barriers which make it difficult just to get by. At about 80-85 minutes duration, this documentary powerfully humanizes the statistics and headlines about migrants seeking asylum with its deeply personal, moving and ultimately hopeful narrative.

Nobody would look twice at Alexander if they met him in the street. He blends in perfectly, and all he wants is to be able to get on with life like any other man, but his situation is complicated because he's trans. This makes it hard for him to find employment, access reliable medical care or marry the woman he loves. Not having met the state's surgical requirements (which not every trans man wants and which, like any lengthy procedure requiring anaesthetic, entails risk), he is unable to change his ID, which means he constantly has to deal with clashing identification in a country where ID cards are needed for all sorts of mundane things. He is trapped, unable to move on with his life, and he and his girlfriend Mari dream of moving to another country where they will be free to be themselves. He lives with his girlfriend/wife Marie, a cos woman. Marie has been ostracized by her family and they are struggling to save money to leave the country. Eventually Marie decides to become a surrogate mother to save money while they struggle to get their passports issued. Thankfully they are able to fly to Belgium and now their real life will begin of trying to fit in a new country, getting proper medical treatment for Alex and living their life as a normal couple.

The film maker uses the fly-on-the-wall approach. It feels we are witnessing lives of this couple where they are going on and about their daily routine. As they go about their daily business, sit at the kitchen table for their meals, cuddle up in bed, one questions what exactly that mob we saw at the beginning of the film, and the attitudes it represents, fears about a couple like Alex and Marie quietly living their lives and not affecting anyone around them. But there is an invisible prison around them. It reflects on the dangers faced by trans people both locally and internationally but never sensationalizes the issue. Alex's mother is the strong support system of his life and a reminder to all parents of just how much difference love makes even if one can't solve all of one's child's problems. As this likeable family try to make their way, the film touches on other social issues and highlights the difference between how the state represents its family values and how all sorts of people actually live. Alex may eventually get his happy ending but there are many more people out there like him for whom the dream of a safe, ordinary life fees much further away. (6.5/10)