Jack and Yaya

2019, dir Jennifer Bagley, 84 min, DCP

Jack and Yaya met at ages three and two through their shared backyard fence. They spent their childhood together, building forts and burning trash cans in their small hometown in South Jersey. From a young age, Yaya and Jack saw each other as they truly were, a girl and a boy, even though the rest of the world didn’t see them that way. As they grew older, they supported each other as they both came out as transgender.

Decades later, Jack and Yaya remain best friends. Jack now lives in Boston with his loyal pup, Plinko, and works as a kindergarten teacher, while Yaya lives in her childhood home, waiting tables and trying to make ends meet after her mother’s passing. During his summer vacation, Jack travels back to his childhood home to spend time with Yaya and his extended family.

Jack & Yaya follows these two friends for a year and explores their unique relationship, drawing on home videos and conversations with their eclectic cast of friends and family.