Rhys Ernst is an American film producer and director. A trans man, his
work explores transgender identity. He is best known for his work on
transgender-related television shows, serving as an associate producer
on Transparent and the director of its documentary spin-off This is
Me. He is also known for his controversial debut feature film
Adam.Ernst transitioned at the age of 25. He has explained that media
was his way of discovering queer identities, particularly MTV in his
childhood and New Queer Cinema as he got older; these films also
helped him "imagine a future" that seemed otherwise inaccessible from
his hometown in North Carolina. He graduated from Hampshire College in
2004, with a BA in film; his graduation film was "The Drive North",
which won an award at the Chicago International Film Festival. He then
received an Master of Fine Arts from CalArts in 2011. His thesis film,
"The Thing", premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2012. Between
degrees, he served as associate producer of the Logo series Coming Out
Stories.For several years, Ernst frequently creatively collaborated
with Zackary Drucker, a trans woman who was also his partner at the
time. They were included in the first iteration of the Hammer/LAX Art
biennial in 2012, premiering the film "She Gone Rogue"; the film was
also included in Outfest 2013. In 2014, Drucker and Ernst exhibited
"Relationship" at the Whitney Museum of American Art, as part of the
Whitney Biennial, through a series of photos that chronicled the
process and evolution of the couple's relationship and gender
transitions. In 2016, "Relationship" was released as a book.
work explores transgender identity. He is best known for his work on
transgender-related television shows, serving as an associate producer
on Transparent and the director of its documentary spin-off This is
Me. He is also known for his controversial debut feature film
Adam.Ernst transitioned at the age of 25. He has explained that media
was his way of discovering queer identities, particularly MTV in his
childhood and New Queer Cinema as he got older; these films also
helped him "imagine a future" that seemed otherwise inaccessible from
his hometown in North Carolina. He graduated from Hampshire College in
2004, with a BA in film; his graduation film was "The Drive North",
which won an award at the Chicago International Film Festival. He then
received an Master of Fine Arts from CalArts in 2011. His thesis film,
"The Thing", premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2012. Between
degrees, he served as associate producer of the Logo series Coming Out
Stories.For several years, Ernst frequently creatively collaborated
with Zackary Drucker, a trans woman who was also his partner at the
time. They were included in the first iteration of the Hammer/LAX Art
biennial in 2012, premiering the film "She Gone Rogue"; the film was
also included in Outfest 2013. In 2014, Drucker and Ernst exhibited
"Relationship" at the Whitney Museum of American Art, as part of the
Whitney Biennial, through a series of photos that chronicled the
process and evolution of the couple's relationship and gender
transitions. In 2016, "Relationship" was released as a book.
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