SUPERMAN - SYLVIA (a fan film by Chris .R. Notarile)

Told from her perspective, a transwoman named Sylvia recounts her fateful meeting with Metropolis' man of steel.

A WORD FROM CHRIS

SUPERMAN - SYLVIA is the followup to my 2016 short: BATMAN - DANTE. And how Batman and Superman are polar opposites, I knew I wanted this short to be tonally different from my previous installment. I wanted this one to be outwardly inspiring, rather than action packed. When working with a character like Batman, you're allowed to make things scary, and dark. But with Superman, at least for me, I believe that he needs to purposefully represent hope, both in his demeanor and in the themes and tone of the film. Superman can't accidentally represent hope. It needs to be a clear choice, both from the character and the filmmakers telling the story. So that was the angle I took.

The story of Sylvia is not based on any one person, but rather a collection of people I have encountered over the years. I've heard many horror stories from both strangers and close friends as they struggled to find their place in life. Transitioning is never an easy choice, let alone process; at least when it comes to acceptance among family, and more often than not, society. And many trans people are often demonized simply for wanting to be recognized as the gender they strive so hard to be. Thus, Sylvia was born.

Finding the right person to play this character was quite the challenge. I of course gave the script to several of my friends in the trans community to ask their thoughts on the character and story, and to my surprise all of them told me they could not handle such the intensity of such a role. When I asked why, they told me the themes of the story hit too close to home. One friend flat out began to cry after reading it. I asked if perhaps I should just not make the film, but they were quite adamant that I do. So I kept looking. But my searches were not fruitful, so for literally, an entire year, I put the script on the back burner and turned my attentions elsewhere.

It wasn't until I was working on Spider-Man : The Ballad of Mary Jane, that I discovered my friend, Tom Proprofsky, owned a Superman costume. It was upon seeing the suit, and begging him to let me borrow it for a weekend, that I decided to continue my search to find the perfect Sylvia.

I don't know if it was just fate, or if the planets aligned, but within a week after getting the Superman suit, I stumbled upon Kyler O'Neal. I found her acting profile off a site and messaged her. She agreed to read the part and yeah, she was fantastic. I instantly cast her and that was about it. Shortly after her, I cast Sam Murphy as Superman and in just a few days, we are atop a high rise filming.

Superman has always represented optimism and hope for me. And I hope that after viewing this little short, you too feel a little more optimistic about your life. Thank you for watching.