Sarah Rose Huckman rides a ski lift alongside a kid she is teaching at ski school. Her legs dangle from the chair and swing several feet above the sleek, white snow. It’s one of the more mundane, yet vulnerable moments in Hulu’s Changing the Game; a documentary that shares the story of three transgender teen athletes across the nation as they navigate high school competitive athletics. 

For Alex Schmider, one of the film’s producers and the associate director of transgender representation at GLAAD, the sight was more than just a scene in the documentary. It showed a moment that is rarely captured in trans-related media; a transgender kid is portrayed as simply a kid. It moved him. 

"When I first saw that onscreen, I realized that I'd never really seen a trans kid be treated with the kind of innocence and ability to just be as a kid," he said.

"It was one of those revelatory moments, where I don't know that I've ever seen that kind of treatment in trans storytelling.”

Moments like those are what shapes the documentary and its important theme of visibility, whether it be simple moments like taking a ski lift or competing alongside other teens.

"It wasn't until actually later on, as we were cutting the film together, that the actual thematic revealed itself to us in that film is so much about visibility for trans people — to share their own stories from their own perspectives," Schmider said. 

The team came across the narrative of trans student athletes in 2017 and started filming in 2018 for about 15 months. They gathered stories from more kids than there were in the final product. While editing and writing along the way of filming, they narrowed it into the three leading student athletes.

"You're hoping that those stories become wildly cohesive and become one story," writer-director Michael Barnett said about making the documentary.

"That's not to take away the individuality of each kid, but really it's to say that we want the kind of thematics and the emotion to all harmonize as we move into the third act of the film." 

Mack Beggs of Texas, Sarah Rose Huckman of New Hampshire and Andraya Yearwood of Connecticut each have their own experiences with athletics. One can’t compete with others of the same gender, one is accepted and allowed to compete with others of the same gender, and one is unable to compete completely. Despite their varying experiences, their narratives collide when it comes to common struggles and accomplishments relatable to all audiences.

"It was really important to make the film accessible to everyone; for all audiences to be able to come to the film and feel something," Schmider said. 

The film began out of Barnett’s desire to support someone close to him who was transitioning. In the process of educating himself and looking for guidance, he came across Beggs’ story as a man stuck in women’s wrestling. Barnett’s background as a filmmaker launched what would become a larger project.

"I came across Mack’s story, and Mack’s story ended up contextualizing, for me, things in a different way," Barnett said.

"And I thought, 'Well if this is providing for me more education, more awareness, and a better understanding quickly, imagine if we made a film about that and what that could do.'" 

Barnett and Schmider experienced the impact of storytelling along the way of filming. While following Yearwood, they came across Terry Miller; another trans student athlete in track who found confidence through Yearwood’s story.

"We sort of met Terry in real time," Barnett said.

"We had spent a year talking to Andraya and her family, and Terry's story emerged in the most holistic way. She found bravery and courage after seeing Andraya have the bravery and courage to live in her truth. To witness that as it happened, as a filmmaker, is a gift." 

Schmider shared that Miller and Yearwood's impact on each other’s success reflected how they became their own heroes.

"Our hope and intention were always to make a film that shows these young people as the heroes in their own stories," he said. 

"What revealed itself to us as we were cutting it together was that our intention of what the film will be and could be was showing up through Terry's relationship to Andraya." 

Outside the film, there are more student trans athletes with similar experiences. Changing the Game explores the challenges that the leading kids face on a personal and institutional level. Even when it feels like the odds are stacked against them, Barnett finds poignant moments that depict community and support; from family members urging the kids to push for legislative change, the athletes receive the encouragement needed to reinforce that they belong on the field, mat or slopes. "

Underneath this film, what it really is, is about love and support," Schmider said.

"Even in the most unlikely places with the most unlikely of people, these stories of love and support are real and they are possible."

Changing the Game is now available to stream on Hulu.