Trans Actress Goes From AIDS Street Outreach to Indie Darling
By Julie Turkewitz
From Housing Works
August 9, 2011
http://www.thebody.com/content/63428/trans-actress-goes-from-aids-street-outreach-to-in.html (http://www.thebody.com/content/63428/trans-actress-goes-from-aids-street-outreach-to-in.html)
Everybody is talking about her.
A year ago, Harmony Santana was 19, living in transitional housing in Harlem, and working as a peer educator at Bronx AIDS Services. She was still living as a boy and thinking about going into the medical field.
Now, she's starring as Michael/Vanessa in Gun Hill Road, a drama set in the Bronx about an ex-convict who returns from prison to discover his son, Michael, is transitioning into a woman. The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January; created a buzz at Newfest in July; and opened in New York City on Friday.