The Family Portraits

Growing up, Elijah Davis knew he was different. Following his adoption into a new family, he realized he was the wrong gender. After an operation, Elijah became Desiré Andersen, although her path wasn’t easy. Riddled with abuse and discontent, she eventually landed a role on a popular soap opera and became a daytime diva. Now, it has been a year since Desiré’s boyfriend was murdered, and she again struggles to make sense of life. She decides to enter the world of film, leaving television behind, but she first revisits memories from her difficult past. She and her “white” family read journals and letters, forcing them to relive explosive memories and events. Desiré remembers how she met her “white” family, and she gains more insight into her relationship with her “black” family. She recalls what it was like growing up as an openly gay, black kid in 1980s Western Massachusetts Simultaneously, her life takes another drastic turn when people from her past make an appearance in her present—and they will change her future forever.