Tears, Trauma & Trans Power

Model, author, and trans activist Munroe Bergdorf is stepping in front of the camera in a new way—and this time, it’s her entire life that’s under the spotlight. Love & Rage, the upcoming documentary directed by Olivia Cappuccini, promises a raw, emotional, and visually stunning portrait of a woman who’s faced it all and keeps fighting. Slated for limited UK cinema release on June 10 and 11, the film isn’t just Bergdorf’s story—it’s a rallying cry for the trans community and a mirror to society’s deepest fractures.

In the trailer, Bergdorf is glamorous and gut-wrenching in equal measure. Archival clips and surreal visuals are interwoven with candid moments: laughter from her days working with L’Oréal, tears reflecting on public backlash, and philosophical reflections about love, worth, and identity. “As great as it was,” she says of her rise to fame, “the takedown was ten times worse.” It’s a line that hits especially hard in a moment where trans visibility often comes with a cruel price tag.

Trans Power Meets Emotional Realness

Bergdorf, 37, doesn’t sugarcoat anything—nor does Cappuccini’s lens. This isn’t some glossy influencer highlight reel. Instead, we’re taken through the mud: the racism, the relentless transphobia, the shaky family dynamics, the trauma of being first and being visible. But we’re also offered glimpses of healing, chosen family, and joy. The doc is titled Love & Rage for a reason—because that’s the cocktail trans folks are handed every day just to survive.

The film deploys stylised sequences and ambient soundscapes to capture the contradictions of being trans in a world obsessed with both exploiting and erasing transness. This is Bergdorf’s reclamation. “She has so elegantly and sensitively captured my journey,” Bergdorf said of the filmmaker, calling the project “nerve-wracking” but “worth it.”

For queer and trans viewers, it’s hard not to see this as more than a film. It’s a mirror held up to every microaggression, every online pile-on, every sliver of hard-earned joy. In an era when trans rights are under full-blown attack, documentaries like this aren’t luxury—they’re life rafts.

A Call to Feel, and Then Fight

“If we can’t love, what is the point?” Bergdorf asks through tears in the trailer. The question lingers like a wound, a dare, a whisper to every queer person who’s ever been told to sit down and shut up. And if there’s one thing Munroe Bergdorf refuses to do, it’s stay quiet.

Trans people, especially trans women of color, remain lightning rods for controversy—targeted, tokenised, and too often discarded. But with Love & Rage, Bergdorf doesn’t just reclaim her narrative. She drags it onto the big screen and demands to be seen on her own terms.

Whether you’re cis or trans, queer or questioning, Love & Rage is a must-watch reminder that identity isn’t a trend—it’s a fight. And Bergdorf, as ever, is leading the charge in six-inch heels.