Becoming Chaz

Chastity Bono grew up in the public eye as the daughter of pop stars Sonny & Cher, making occasional appearances on their popular television show in the 1970s. But Chastity was not the person the public imagined she was; Bono struggled with gender and sexual identity issues for years before coming out as a transsexual, a man living in the body of a woman. Adopting the name Chaz Bono, the former Chastity set out on the long road to physically transform his body into that of a man. Filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato were given near total access to Bono as he deals with the physical and emotional challenges of reshaping his body into that of a male (as well as the complex legal ramifications) in the documentary Becoming Chaz. The film also includes interviews with Chaz's mother Cher, his longtime girlfriend Jennifer Elia, and his stepmother Mary Bono Mack, all of whom have their own ways of dealing with profound changes in someone they love. Becoming Chaz received its world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.