20,000 Species of Bees

DVD Features

BONUS SHORT FILM:

Cuerdas
Directed by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren
Spain | Spanish with English subtitles | 30 minutes

Rita belongs to a women’s choir that is in danger of breaking up because they have lost the funding for their rehearsal room. Now the group has to decide whether or not to accept sponsorship from a company that has been polluting the community.

Discs: 1

• Highest Rating
  "The Grand Jury prize for the Official Competition goes to 20,000 Species of Bees, a thoughtful coming of age story that uses small, relatable moments to navigate a trans awakening, and a family’s journey to understanding. Led by the unforgettable Sofía Otero, in their feature film debut, the remarkable ensemble cast guides the audience through the experience of acceptance."
  SIFF 2023 Jury Statement
• Highest Rating
  "[T]his moving chronicle of an 8-year-old’s gradual transitioning, and the effect it has on a family over their summer vacation, manages to be both timely and timeless, making its hot-button issue feel like part of a larger, spiritual cycle of life and loss. Carried by impressively fluid, determinedly naturalistic filmmaking, with performances that never hit a false note, 20,000 Species of Bees marks an assured debut..."
  Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter
• Highest Rating
  "Extraordinary for its sensitivity and perception, Estibollz Urresolo Sologuren’s story of an 8-year-old girl’s growing discomfort with being perceived as a boy is a landmark in the filmic discussion of gender, sexuality and identity. "
  Deborah Young, The Film Verdict
• Highest Rating
  "[A]n engaging, authentic, moving film about the way society persists in seeing monsters where there are none."
  Lee Marshall, Screen Daily
• Highest Rating
  "There’s gentleness and delicacy in this heartfelt family drama. A warm and generously performed film."
  Peter Bradshaw, Guardian
• Highest Rating
  "Otero’s performance in the lead is utterly winning...."
  Guy Lodge, Variety
• Highest Rating
  "It is, at its heart, a film about a child’s attempts to be heard and seen for who they are, so much of [Otero's] performance hinges on powerful moments of quiet introspection where swirling emotions – shame and frustration largely amongst them – are often verbally repressed, while still playing out on her face...20,000 Species of Bees is a touching, beautiful and sensitive film with the potential of making a significant dent in the current hateful discourse from some quarters about transgender children – if only they had it in their heart to watch it."
  Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Alliance of Women Film Journalists
• Highest Rating
  "One of the most sensitive, honest, and easily recollectable on-screen portrayals of gender dysphoria and growing up trans."
  Mattie Lucas, In Review Online
• Highest Rating
  "[I]ts socio-political commentary and the sensitivity with which it depicts Lucía’s story of gender identity offers a compassion that is too rarely seen in reality, making its impact more profound."
  Caitlin Quinlan, Little White Lies
• Highest Rating
  "The beauty of this film is that Solaguren never tries to inflate Lucia’s confusion or discomfort with her mismatched body into a banner issue."
  Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline
• Highest Rating
  "It’s a lovely movie, which stands entirely on Ms. Otero’s small shoulders; and she carries it with a calm unusual in a child. Her acting prize was well deserved."
  Sarah Manvel, Critic's Notebook