Seven trans holiday movies to add to your Christmas watchlist

LGBTQ+ Christmas movies are growing in numbers every year, including festive depictions of trans folks.

Trans characters are slowly becoming more prevalent in holiday films, though the genres on offer are quite varied. Movies in this list include a sweet rom-com, a Japanese anime and a moving documentary about people training to become Santa.

However, it’s worth noting that transgender depictions in Christmas film and TV are still few and far between. Our Christmas wish to Santa is definitely to see more diversity on screen moving forward.

With that in mind, here are seven trans holiday films to watch over the Christmas break:

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A Savage Christmas

Davina Savage (Thea Raveneau) has been estranged from her family since she came out as trans, but this Christmas she’s heading home.

Arriving with her new boyfriend Kane (co-writer Max Jahufer) in Queensland, Australia, Davina is expecting all the attention to be on her, but around the dining table her family’s antics, lies and deception take over.

With the essence of Hallmark cinema, A Savage Christmas is funny and also sometimes painfully relatable, as the dysfunctional family’s arguments demonstrate their out-of-touch values. Is a happy Christmas possible for Davina?

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Carnage for Christmas

Not every holiday film is a sweet Christmas treat; this Australian horror film from Alice Maio Mackay splatters blood all over the festivities.

When trans-true-crime podcaster Lola (Jeremy Moineau) returns to her conservative hometown for Christmas, she’s bracing for a negative reaction. She wasn’t ready, however, for the town’s haunting legend of a Santa masked killer to emerge from the shadows upon her return. 

This blood-soaked, queered Santa slasher sees Lola become entangled in the mission to unmask this killer and put an end to the violent murders. There is nothing like some festive violence to bring the family together around the Christmas tree. 

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Mixed Nuts

Legendary rom-com filmmaker Nora Ephron’s 1994 Christmas dark comedy Mixed Nuts is an offbeat movie that takes place over one chaotic night. 

Based on the 1982 French comedy film Le Père Noël est une ordure (Santa Claus is a Stinker), Mixed Nuts chronicles Philip’s (Steve Martin) suicide-prevention hotline being threatened with closure.

His odyssey across Venice Beach, California, leads to many interesting meetings, including with trans dancer Chris (Liev Schreiber). As it’s some very early trans representation, Mixed Nuts’ does have some problematic elements. But, more positively – Chris is shown as being accepted by her new friends and even starts a burgeoning relationship with a character called Louie (Adam Sandler) at the end of the film.

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Santa Camp

This 2022 documentary is centred on the New England Santa Society’s Santa Camp where trainees go to learn how to be Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and the elves.

Santa Camp also sets out to investigate who gets these roles and in order to highlight the modern potential of Santa. Within this, the documentary focuses on Levi Truax in training to be a trans Santa.

Levi nails the traditional look, with his grey beard, twinkling eyes and pink cheeks. At one point he meets a teenager and says “Nice to meet you. I’m Trans Santa. Pronouns?” “They, them,” the teen answers, and then tells Santa that their Christmas wish is to come out fully to their parents and dress in a way that conforms to their gender identity. Handkerchiefs at the ready, everyone.

Levi also reflects on what meeting a transgender Santa would have meant to his younger self.

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Tangerine

Sean Baker’s 2015 comedy-drama Tangerine may seem like a left-field pick for a Christmas film, but it’s an LGBTQ+ staple.

Set on Christmas Eve, Tangerine follows a trans sex worker Sin-Dee Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) getting out of jail only to be told by her friend, Alexandra (Mya Taylor), that her boyfriend and pimp Chester has been cheating on her.

With fabulous performances from Rodriguez and Taylor, Tangerine is equal parts hilarious and moving. Also, with its low budget – the film was also shot exclusively on iPhone 5s – stylings, Tangerine is a perfect example of the scope possible in festive LGBTQ+ cinema.

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The Bitch Who Stole Christmas

The 2021 drag-themed Christmas comedy movie sees RuPaul reunite with Drag Race alumni for this festive drag extravaganza.

The film features the first trans man on the show – Gottmik – as well as Latrice Royale, Brooke Lynn Hytes and Cher impersonator Chad Michaels, plus many more.

In what is labelled the “draggiest Christmas movie ever made,” The Bitch Who Stole Christmas follows a big-city fashion journalist arriving in a Christmas-obsessed small town to delve into a breaking story hooked to the high-stakes winter ball competition which threatens to destroy’s the town’s festive celebration.

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Tokyo Godfathers

Tokyo Godfathers, the 2003 Japanese anime Christmas tragicomedy from Satoshi Kon, follows three homeless people on Christmas Eve.

The trio, one of which is a trans woman named Hana (Yoshiaki Umegaki), find an abandoned newborn when rifling through garbage for presents and set out on an adventure to find the parents’ identity. 

Hana grew up in foster care after being abandoned but was taken in by her foster mother, a drag queen. Hana is very caring and protective of the baby they find, and is determined to give the newborn the best start in life.