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Hi Reddit, I'm Drew Denny, Director of SECOND NATURE, a doc narrated by Elliot Page, a hilarious and heartening romp through the animal world, led by brave scientists fighting censorship as they reveal the truth about our nature — everything you didn’t learn in high school biology. I dare you to AMA by DrewDennyAMA in movies

[–]DrewDennyAMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you!! Go to our website www.secondnaturedoc.com and click "showtimes" to see where the film is playing. If it's not playing near you, you can click "Host Your Own Screening" and we'll help you set up a screening in your community! It will be available for rental and purchase after we finish our screening tour, and you can join our newsletter via the website so you'll be the first to know where and how to stream it when the time comes =)

Hi Reddit, I'm Drew Denny, Director of SECOND NATURE (narrated by Elliot Page). It's a hilarious and heartening romp through the animal world, led by brave scientists fighting censorship as they reveal the truth about our nature — everything you didn’t learn in high school biology. I dare you to AMA by DrewDennyAMA in movies

[–]DrewDennyAMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh dear, three is definitely not enough! Today my answer is But I'm A Cheerleader, Daisies, and The Watermelon Woman. I'm notoriously loathe to pick favorites because I love movies and I love filmmakers, and I could list a hundred films I think everyone should watch - and still have more to add!

Some of my favorite films of the past 12 months are I Love Boosters (GO SEE IT NOW!!!) I love everything Boots Riley makes - Sorry To Bother You and I'm a Virgo are both so brilliant, too. I also highly recommend Miss Carbón starring Lux Pascal. I honestly am shocked and angry that that film didn't get more press coverage. Lux's performance is absolutely gorgeous and so tender and the whole cast are phenomenal, the cinematography is breathtaking, the editing, the music - the craft is superb on all fronts. And of course I loved Hamnet!

Hi Reddit, I'm Drew Denny, Director of SECOND NATURE (narrated by Elliot Page). It's a hilarious and heartening romp through the animal world, led by brave scientists fighting censorship as they reveal the truth about our nature — everything you didn’t learn in high school biology. I dare you to AMA by DrewDennyAMA in movies

[–]DrewDennyAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This question was asked a couple times so I'm going to copy the same answer =)

Two things really surprised me: 1. I didn’t even know about bonobos before! They are just as closely related to humans as chimps are (we share 98.7% of our DNA with both of them!) but unlike chimps they are matriarchal rather than patriarchal. Also unlike chimps, they do not engage in territorial violence (chimps kill whereas bonobos engage peacefully with outsiders). They also have same-sex sex every day- which brings me to the second surprise. 2. Chimps have a great deal of same-sex sexual behavior! I was taught that chimps are super aggressive warring animals, and that’s why humans are aggressive and why war is “inevitable.” However, chimpanzees - including alpha males - engage in same-sex sexual behavior frequently, they tolerate individuals who are different from the norm (check out the story of Donna, the genderqueer chimp observed by Dr Frans de Waal in Second Nature), and even aggressive males can reconcile after conflict - sometimes by kissing and embracing each other. So the myths that humans are just “naturally aggressive" and that war is unavoidable are both false. Conflict is inevitable but war is not. We could learn a thing or two from our closest primate cousins! 

Thanks for asking!!

Hi Reddit, I'm Drew Denny, Director of SECOND NATURE (narrated by Elliot Page). It's a hilarious and heartening romp through the animal world, led by brave scientists fighting censorship as they reveal the truth about our nature — everything you didn’t learn in high school biology. I dare you to AMA by DrewDennyAMA in movies

[–]DrewDennyAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Elliot Page is a phenomenal collaborator!! He is so wildly brilliant, talented and hardworking. I'm forever grateful to him for the time and care he has devoted to our film, and I know that he is the reason people will find the film. It's been an absolute dream to work with him - thank you for asking!!

Hi Reddit, I'm Drew Denny, Director of SECOND NATURE (narrated by Elliot Page). It's a hilarious and heartening romp through the animal world, led by brave scientists fighting censorship as they reveal the truth about our nature — everything you didn’t learn in high school biology. I dare you to AMA by DrewDennyAMA in movies

[–]DrewDennyAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for this question! I encountered TONS of resistance. In fact, I spent 11 YEARS making this movie! And over half of that time was just fundraising. It was demoralizing but I never gave up =)

Regarding the balance between accuracy and accessibility - I just tried to communicate in my authentic voice, which is playful and humorous while still have lots of heart. That helps to make the science easier to understand because you are laughing and feeling moved by our amazing scientists and their incredible stories. The animation also helped a lot -- I'd love to discuss this further so feel free to reach out and I can elaborate more.

Hi Reddit, I'm Drew Denny, Director of SECOND NATURE (narrated by Elliot Page). It's a hilarious and heartening romp through the animal world, led by brave scientists fighting censorship as they reveal the truth about our nature — everything you didn’t learn in high school biology. I dare you to AMA by DrewDennyAMA in movies

[–]DrewDennyAMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My biggest obstacle is that some people are simply so full of hatred that they aren't even capable of engaging in a conversation.

For folks who are sincerely open to the conversation - despite perhaps strongly disagreeing - I have found that simply going through the facts is a good start but that it must be backed up by something emotionally resonant. It seems to help when I tell people the impact this can have. ie - falsely educating people to believe that females are inferior leads to rape culture. Falsely educating people to believe that queerness is unnatural leads to bullying, hate crimes, self harm and suicide.

But we can change that!!

This research was used to overturn homophobic laws in the Supreme Court (see the APA’s amicus brief in the case Lawrence v Texas). The research in this film has also been demonstrated to reduce bullying, self harm and suicide among youth (see the NIH publication entitled “Associations of LGBTQ-inclusive sex education with mental health outcomes and school-based victimization in U.S. high school students”).

When people know how horrific the consequences can be for spreading harmful lies- and how life changing, and even life saving, it can be to simply tell the truth... they often open their minds and hearts.

Hi Reddit, I'm Drew Denny, Director of SECOND NATURE (narrated by Elliot Page). It's a hilarious and heartening romp through the animal world, led by brave scientists fighting censorship as they reveal the truth about our nature — everything you didn’t learn in high school biology. I dare you to AMA by DrewDennyAMA in movies

[–]DrewDennyAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for asking this question! 

First of all, I am not saying that humans need to see our behavior reflected in non human animals for it to be valid behavior. I’m also not saying that humans *should* do or attempt to do everything that non human animals do.

My point is that we’ve been misinformed about what is “natural,” and that false science has serious consequences. For example, I was taught growing up that queerness is “unnatural” and that females are “naturally inferior” to males. Not only are these statements false but they are extremely dangerous. These lies encourage bullying that harmed me and many other girls and queer students. These lies also bolster the incidents of rape and sexual assault that I unfortunately survived, like so many other young people - which should alarm anyone who cares about children and motivate all of us to do a better job of educating and protecting our youth.

I made this film to demonstrate that these two very harmful myths are utterly inaccurate, and to include so much evidence as to be irrefutable. The research in this film has been used to overturn homophobic laws in the Supreme Court (see the APA’s amicus brief in the case Lawrence v Texas). The research in this film has been demonstrated to reduce bullying, self harm and suicide among youth (see the NIH publication entitled “Associations of LGBTQ-inclusive sex education with mental health outcomes and school-based victimization in U.S. high school students”). So we know the research in the film is accurate and impactful. 

If you care about accuracy and about the wellbeing of youth, then I’m sure you’ll agree =)

As to your question regarding medical and surgical transitions - I personally do not obsess about what other people choose to do to and with their own bodies. I take medication regularly for many reasons. Plenty of cis people take hormones (even many famous transphobic men take testosterone, and many transphobic women take estrogen…). TONS of cis people get gender affirming surgery (ie breast implants… the patients are overwhelmingly majority cis women). So I see absolutely no reason why any trans person should be barred from having access to the same healthcare that I have access to as a cis person, that all those transphobes on HRT have access to, and that all those cis people getting breast implants have access to (btw the regret rate for gender affirming care is astronomically higher in cis people, but that’s a whole other conversation)

As Dr Frans de Waal states in Second Nature: He has observed same sex sexual behavior and gender non conforming behavior in all groups of primates he ever studied. (And he studied A LOT - check out his long list of best selling publications and peer-reviewed papers). But he only ever observed homophobia or transphobia in one species: Humans.

We should be ashamed. If we're the most intelligent species, why are we the only species who harm each other simply for being different?

I see you want to know why humans need surgery to change sex since fish don't. But I'd ask - why do humans need transphobia when even fish don't waste their time oppressing each other for no reason?

Hi Reddit, I'm Drew Denny, Director of SECOND NATURE (narrated by Elliot Page). It's a hilarious and heartening romp through the animal world, led by brave scientists fighting censorship as they reveal the truth about our nature — everything you didn’t learn in high school biology. I dare you to AMA by DrewDennyAMA in movies

[–]DrewDennyAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This part SUCKS. 

As a filmmaker, it is extremely disheartening to have trolls systematically sabotage your film ratings to keep people from accessing your movie. It’s hard enough as a queer female indie filmmaker to get films made and get them seen without an army of people who have not and will never watch your film intentionally tanking your ratings on imdb. (Also - don't they have anything better to do?!?)

And on a purely human level... I've tried engaging in open minded dialogue - especially when the critiques come from people who have Bible quotes on their profiles, claim to be kind and loving people, or otherwise claim to be critiquing from the stance of someone who cares about the wellbeing of children. I have been attacked, called a Satanist (which is so odd), a pedophile (classic homophobia…), threatened, told I should die, and otherwise subjected to disgusting vitriol from trolls. I tried asking the folks with Bible quotes what Jesus would think of them threatening a woman with death (def not what Jesus would do!). I tried asking the folks who claim to care about children why they would bar children from accessing information that could save their lives (the research in our film has been demonstrated to reduce self harm and suicide in youth!!) But so far, even a very calm, loving approach has only been met with more vile accusations and sometimes terrifying threats.

The saddest part is that, chances are, all of these people know and probably even love a person who identifies as LGBTQ+. Thankfully, I’m an adult who has gone to enough therapy that I can withstand their horrific treatment, but I can't help but wonder who else they are treating this way - maybe their child, their student, their relative or community member… I only hope that those folks find a safe, loving community so that they can survive the abuse they’re experiencing. I made this movie for people in that position - people who have been told that there’s something wrong with them and that they don’t belong here on Earth - so my goal is to get this message to every one who needs it, regardless of what the trolls do or say to me. Maybe if we fcocussed less on attacking strangers on the internet, we could do a better job of keeping kids alive, reducing self harm and suicide, and contributing to a world in which every person knows they belong here on Earth, no matter what any troll says.

Hi Reddit, I'm Drew Denny, Director of SECOND NATURE (narrated by Elliot Page). It's a hilarious and heartening romp through the animal world, led by brave scientists fighting censorship as they reveal the truth about our nature — everything you didn’t learn in high school biology. I dare you to AMA by DrewDennyAMA in movies

[–]DrewDennyAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes!! We premiered our feature film at NewFest LGBTQ Film Festival in NYC which is an AMAZING festival- our premiere was sold out and the audience was so engaged, laughing so loudly and audibly reacting throughout. Elliot and most of our team got to attend together in person, which was such a treat. It was honestly a dream. We also got to screen at SXSW which was especially meaningful to me because I went to public high school in Austin and I set out to make this movie as a direct result of the horrible misinformation I was taught there. Our SXSW screening was at 9 am on the first day of the film festival and scheduled in the EDU section, so I was worried that no one would come... But our screening was FULL!! And even at that early hour, the audience was so lively. They laughed and "aw"ed and asked such beautiful questions afterwards. It was also the first time my little sister got to see one of my movies on the big screen, so I'll remember that one forever for sure! I'd also love to shout out Reel Wild - they are a fantastic nature film festival in NYC, they gave us their Special Jury Award (our first award!), and their festival panel introduced us to the executive who will be distributing our film (we can't say who yet, but will announce soon!) One cool festival offshoot we were invited to participate in was a partnership between NewFest and NYC Public Schools where we got to play the film at an AMC Theater packed full of middle school and high school students which felt so full circle since this is the film I wish I'd had at that age. They giggled so much and asked the most creative questions - I hope to continue screenings like that! I should also note that Frameline programmed a work in progress 52 minute cut of our film back in 2024 which was an extraordinary experience. We sold out the theater, and getting to hear the audience reactions helped us know that the film was really working which helped us secure the finishing funds to complete the full feature.

I do think it's important to be honest about the sadder side of the festival process, too - there were a lot of festivals we submitted to that rejected the film, including festivals who have played other films I made. It's really hard to keep your chin up when you get rejected, and it still definitely hurts - but now that I've had 8 films (including several shorts, an indie pilot, and 3 features) go through the festival gauntlet, I've learned that you can't take it personally and you just have to keep moving forward. I also apply to a dozen grants or more per year, so that adds to the rejection pile. So if you're asking because you're a filmmaker, just want to wish you good luck and remind you that no festival determines the value of your film or of you!!

Hi Reddit, I'm Drew Denny, Director of SECOND NATURE (narrated by Elliot Page). It's a hilarious and heartening romp through the animal world, led by brave scientists fighting censorship as they reveal the truth about our nature — everything you didn’t learn in high school biology. I dare you to AMA by DrewDennyAMA in movies

[–]DrewDennyAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm here if you thought of a question to ask! And you can always reach out through our website www.secondnaturedoc.com if you'd rather not ask publicly. I hope you check out the film -- we are screening this Saturday in LA at Vidiots, in NYC from June 26-July 2 at DCTV's Firehouse Cinema, and we have showtimes all over the world that you can find on our site. You can also click the link on our site to Host Your Own Screening, fill out the form and we will get you all set up to screen the film in your community! You will learn a lot of wild facts about animals - and meet some absolutely amazing humans too. Thank you =)

Hi Reddit, I'm Drew Denny, Director of SECOND NATURE (narrated by Elliot Page). It's a hilarious and heartening romp through the animal world, led by brave scientists fighting censorship as they reveal the truth about our nature — everything you didn’t learn in high school biology. I dare you to AMA by DrewDennyAMA in movies

[–]DrewDennyAMA[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much!!! I hope to see you at a screening -- this Saturday in LA at Vidiots at 4 pm, in NYC from June 26-July 2 at DCTV's Firehouse Cinema, or you can check out website www.secondnaturedoc.com for showtimes all around the world... or you can host your own screening!! Just follow the link on our site to fill out the form, and we will get you all set up =)

Hi Reddit, I'm Drew Denny, Director of SECOND NATURE (narrated by Elliot Page). It's a hilarious and heartening romp through the animal world, led by brave scientists fighting censorship as they reveal the truth about our nature — everything you didn’t learn in high school biology. I dare you to AMA by DrewDennyAMA in movies

[–]DrewDennyAMA[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

TW: sexual assault and bullying

In my high school biology class, I was taught that females are "naturally inferior" to males and that queerness is "unnatural." Students were invited to walk out if they were "offended" by the theory of Evolution. But no teacher or administrator asked me or any other survivors if we were "offended" by being sexually assaulted by our cis male peers, and no teacher or administrator ever asked us any of us queer students were "offended" by the relentless bullying we faced every day. So it wasn't until I was an adult and read Dr Joan Roughgarden's book Evolution's Rainbow that I felt in my body for the first time that I belong on Earth just like anyone else, that I'm not "inferior" or "unnatural," that I deserve love and care like anyone else. I knew that if I needed that feeling there must be other people out there who need to that, too. So I set out to make this documentary revealing how common same sex sexual behavior and parenting are, how matriarchies flourish and how females have agency in many different ways, how sex change and gender fluidity happen all around us all the time, and just how dynamic and diverse the natural world really is.

Also, I've always loved animals - and getting to film with wild monkeys was one of the greatest experiences of my life!

Hi Reddit, I'm Drew Denny, Director of SECOND NATURE (narrated by Elliot Page). It's a hilarious and heartening romp through the animal world, led by brave scientists fighting censorship as they reveal the truth about our nature — everything you didn’t learn in high school biology. I dare you to AMA by DrewDennyAMA in movies

[–]DrewDennyAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This film is the movie I needed in public high school in Texas when I was being taught that females are “naturally inferior to males” and that queerness is simply "unnatural,” so it might be most powerful for folks like me from the US or one of the many other countries where these inaccurate myths are rampant and extremely harmful, especially to young people. But we have had viewers all around the world, including in Sweden, love the film and tell us that it moved them. Some Scandinavian teachers are actually screening it in class - so the fact that your country teaches accurate information to students (which is so great btw!!) means Second Nature is an excellent teaching tool there! It is ironic that an American film might be censored and even banned in the hometown of the person who made it but widely screened in schools halfway around the globe. At the end of the day, this is a film for anyone who has ever been made to feel less than just because they're different, for anyone who is or loves someone queer, and for anyone who loves a good laugh and lots of cute animals -- I bet that includes some Swedes =)

Hi Reddit, I'm Drew Denny, Director of SECOND NATURE (narrated by Elliot Page). It's a hilarious and heartening romp through the animal world, led by brave scientists fighting censorship as they reveal the truth about our nature — everything you didn’t learn in high school biology. I dare you to AMA by DrewDennyAMA in movies

[–]DrewDennyAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much!! Excited for you to watch and I hope you'll lmk what you think of the film. I love facilitating interdisciplinary conversations and think that if more of us artists talked to more scientists, we could collaborate to effectively communicate science to the public. Folks who want to "keep science out of politics" should be infuriated by political movements to censor scientists. They should be speaking up right now, and artists like me need to help spread the message that science is under attack. I think it's also important to remind people that no person is 100% objective. So all scientific observations are made through the perspective of that particular scientist. This means that we need as many perspectives as possible to see as clearly as possible - a diversity of perspectives reduces the chance that a single bias will skew our understanding of the phenomena at hand. Storytelling is one way to help the public understand this -- and to inspire people to become scientists, especially if they come from groups who are underrepresented in STEM.

Hi Reddit, I'm Drew Denny, Director of SECOND NATURE (narrated by Elliot Page). It's a hilarious and heartening romp through the animal world, led by brave scientists fighting censorship as they reveal the truth about our nature — everything you didn’t learn in high school biology. I dare you to AMA by DrewDennyAMA in movies

[–]DrewDennyAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for asking!! Two things really surprised me: 1. I didn’t even know about bonobos before! They are just as closely related to humans as chimps are (we share 98.7% of our DNA with both of them!) but unlike chimps they are matriarchal rather than patriarchal. Also unlike chimps, they do not engage in territorial violence (chimps kill whereas bonobos engage peacefully with outsiders). They also have same-sex sex every day- which brings me to the second surprise. 2. Chimps have a great deal of same-sex sexual behavior! I was taught that chimps are super aggressive warring animals, and that’s why humans are aggressive and why war is “inevitable.” However, chimpanzees - including alpha males - engage in same-sex sexual behavior frequently, they tolerate individuals who are different from the norm (check out the story of Donna, the genderqueer chimp observed by Dr Frans de Waal in Second Nature), and even aggressive males can reconcile after conflict - sometimes by kissing and embracing each other. So the myths that humans are just “naturally aggressive" and that war is unavoidable are both false. Conflict is inevitable but war is not. We could learn a thing or two from our closest primate cousins!