‘25 Years Later’ Revisits the ‘Trancestors’ of 2005’s ‘The Aggressives’ Documentary

“I’m comfortable being a woman who likes women. I live my life as a man, yes, but the reality does not change. You’re born a woman and that’s how you’re going to die.”

So said Marquise Vilsón, one of the subjects of 2005 documentary The Aggressives. The film captured the lives of a group of genderqueer people of color living in New York City between 1997 and 2003. A quarter century on, Vilson’s starkly resigned statement feels lightyears away from where he is today — a successful actor, mentor and activist who is, unquestionably, a man.

Given the strides forward that Vilsón has publicly made over the years, it’s no wonder Aggressives director Daniel Peddle felt the need to check in with some of the other subjects of the film. In 2018, he reconnected with four of the original cast: Octavio Sanders, Trevon Haynes, Kisha Batista and Chin Tsui. He spent the next five years documenting their continuing evolutions, as well as capturing Gen Z perspectives on how these “trancestors” have positively impacted the lives of queer youth now. The result is Paramount+ and Showtime documentary, Beyond the Aggressives: 25 Years Later.

In many ways, reconnecting with these subjects as older, more established adults is a relief, and issues of crime, racism and poverty are not as present here as they were in The Aggressives. Kisha in particular appears to be living her best life: one full of love, joy, art and motorcycles. She is the philosophical heart of the movie and lights up the screen every time she’s on it — a quality that’s allowed her to snag roles on TV shows like Orange is the New Black, Law & Order and Manifest.

That’s not to say our protagonists are not still experiencing hardship as a direct result of their gender identities. At the outset of the film, because of a series of calamitous events, Chin is detained by ICE. Worse, agents put him in long-term solitary confinement because he’s transgender. His struggle for freedom and independence is at the center of his story arc.

When we see Trevon, he’s getting ready to start a family with his girlfriend Jade. As the couple works together to overcome medical issues, it’s clear that doctors’ misunderstandings of gender-nonconforming people only exacerbate their fertility struggles. Trevon is frustrated but determined. One gets the sense that, together, he and Jade could conquer pretty much anything.

Octavio gives us a powerful reflection on how growing up around prejudice continues to impact his self-image. Looking back on the first movie, he says he didn’t come out as trans because he was still living with family then and didn’t want to lose his home. Later, we see that fear of familial rejection has lingered.

At one point, Octavio notes: “If I had a choice to change my gender, I would. The reason why I don’t is because I have a son … I don’t want society judging him because of who his parent is.”

His son’s support later in the film provides the movie with some of its most touching moments.

Despite social progress in the years between The Aggressives and 25 Years Later, self-identification continues to be a point of contention. In the original film, everyone identified as “femme aggressive” at some point, but mostly found themselves outgrowing the term. In the new documentary, Trevon uses male pronouns, but swings between referring to himself as trans, nonbinary and no label at all. It goes to show that language around gender needs to be ever-evolving.

Kisha is still eschewing labels too, but does so with a refreshing sense of joy. “I define myself,” she says, “and I choose to be free.”

In the end, that’s what Beyond The Aggressives: 25 Years Later is really about: growth, evolution, self-expression and the bravery inherent in pushing back against limitations. Its theme of self-realization is a universal one, but it is Kisha who most beautifully sums up the still-developing stories of our four old friends on screen.

“Identity is something that you create yourself — something like art. It’s a process. It’s always changing,” she says. “It’s an alignment of self and soul.”

‘Beyond The Aggressives: 25 Years Later’ premieres on Showtime on March 30, 2024. The movie will also be available to stream via Paramount+ for subscribers with a Showtime add-on.