Taken from the song “Born to be Alive” Born to Be follows Dr. Jess Ting, a plastic surgeon, who answers the call in 2016 to practice medicine at Mount Sinai’s new Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery in New York City. The filmmaker follows Dr. Ting through his rounds at the center: in consultation rooms, surgical prep areas, surgical suites, and recovery rooms as Dr. Ting consults his patients before and after their gender-affirming surgery. Dr. Ting also narrates much of the film and explains how he feels gender is in the mind and in the human population there are a percentage of individuals who feel they are born in the wrong body. An exemplary doctor and surgeon, Dr. Ting treats his patients with sensitivity, humor, and compassion; and, viewers witness this firsthand as the film crew shadow five of his patients through their transitions to their preferred gender.
At first Jess Ting planned to become a skilled musician and attends The Julliard School playing the double bass. While in graduate school, Ting’s parents are uncomfortable with his career choice; he leaves Julliard, attends medical school, and graduates first in his class. It’s clear Dr. Ting sets high goals for himself and works meticulously to achieve the best results he can for his patients. Director Tania Cypriano adeptly reveals Dr. Ting’s story: learning to perform new types of surgery from expert surgeons, gaining understanding of the emotional distress his patients face, and, dealing with an ever-increasing demand for services.
Born to Be also covers five special patients who courageously undergo surgery to improve their lives. Mahogany, a very handsome and successful male model in South Africa, decides to transition to a female; she gives up a life there and moves to New York City where life is a struggle. Dr. Ting tells Mahogany how he can make her face more feminine; she undergoes plastic surgery for facial feminization and the results are remarkable.
Transitioning can take a long time. For Devin, it takes two years to move from Texas, support herself in the city, and then undergo all the various treatments. In Devin’s final surgery for vaginoplasty, her mother relates how hard it was for her to say goodbye to the son Devin once was; she supports Devin and remarks the family never abandoned her. Watching other experts, Dr. Ting learns how to perform vaginoplasty and phalloplasty surgeries and also improves upon the techniques. With lots of good humor, Jordan comes to Dr. Ting for a phalloplasty and is amazed by the results. When Shawn comes for the same procedure, Dr. Ting is already making improvements to the operation. With sensitivity, honest storytelling, and uplifting music, Born to Be shows the positive emotional changes that patients can achieve with a transition—especially with the help of Dr. Ting and his dedicated staff. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P.