Jake Graf is an English actor, screenwriter, director, and transgender rights activist. Graf specializes in short films dealing with transgender issues in an effort to normalize queer and trans experiences to a wider, more mainstream audience.[1] Many of Graf's films emphasize the daily lived experiences of trans men.
Graf's first work within the industry was a screenplay dealing with his experiences as a trans man in making a female-to-male transition.[2] In 2015, Graf visited the White House to take part in a Q&A and viewing of the film The Danish Girl with U.S. president Barack Obama. That year, he became the first trans man to appear on the cover of QX magazine and, in the following year, was featured on the covers of GNI, LGBT Weekly, and FTM Magazine.[3] In 2015, Graf was one of 101 people nominated for a Rainbow Award, which recognizes prominent LGBT+ people in Britain. The nomination acknowledges Graf's work in raising awareness of trans and queer issues through film.[4] Alongside nominations for his work, Jake Graf has been included in judge positions for festivals and award ceremonies. In 2019, Graf took a chair in the Iris Prize Jury, an LGBTQ+ Film Festival.[5] Three years later, Graf also became a judge in the 2022 National Diversity Awards.[6]
From the age of two, Graf knew that he was different from other kids. As a young child, he was very vocal about his feelings and tried telling anyone who would listen that he was a boy.[7] Graf spent much of his youth "trying my best just to 'pass' as male".[8] He has repeatedly talked about the importance of LGBTQ+ representation in the media. Graf believed he "was the only person in the world that felt like he did"[9] and did not know trans men existed until he was nearly 16. This lack of representation that he experienced as a young person made him feel "lonely and isolated". He decided to start transitioning in 2008 at the age of 28.[10] With the emotional and financial support of his mother, Graf started hormone treatment.
Graf is married to Hannah Winterbourne. The couple went on a date on 30 December 2015 after being introduced by a mutual friend. After three years of dating and receiving Hannah's father's blessing, Graf proposed in New York in September 2017. Their wedding took place on 23 March 2018 at Chelsea Old Town Hall in London.[11] Approximately six years after starting transitioning, Graf decided to have his eggs frozen so that he would have the opportunity to have children in the future. In April 2020, their daughter was born via surrogate.[12] Two years later, the couple announced the birth of their second child in June 2022.[13]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | X-WHY | Sam Film director and producer | Short film Shown at 2012 BFI London Film Festival Shortlisted for 2012 Iris Prize | [14] | |
| 2012 | Cocktale | Film writer and director | Short film Iris Prize Nominee 2012 | ||
| 2015 | Brace | Adam Film writer | Short film | [15] [16] | |
| 2015 | The Danish Girl | [17] | |||
| 2015 | Chance | Film director and producer | Short film | [18] | |
| 2016 | Dawn | Film writer and director | Short film | ||
| 2017 | Dusk | Film writer and director | Short film | ||
| 2017 | Headspace | Film writer and director | Short film | [19] | |
| 2018 | Colette | Gaston Arman de Caillavet | [20] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Network | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Spectrum London | James Roche | 8 episodes | Web Series | ||
| 2017 | Different for Girls | Claude | 1 episode | |||
| 2018 | Butterfly | James | 1 episode | |||
| 2020 | McDonald & Dodds | Pathologist | 1 episode | BritBox | ||
| 2021 | Doctors | Olly Brockhurst | 1 episode | BBC One | [21] |
| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Changing Face International Film Festival | Best Short Drama | Dusk | Won | ||
| 2017 | El Lugar Sin Limites | Best Short Film | Dusk | Won | ||
| 2017 | FilmOut San Diego, US | Best International Short Film | Dusk | Won | ||
| 2017 | Glitter Awards | Best Short Film | Dusk | Won | ||
| 2017 | Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival | Best of Festival | Dusk | Won | ||
| 2017 | Louisville LGBT Film Festival | Short Film | Dusk | Won | ||
| 2017 | Macon Film Festival | Best LGBT Short | Dusk | Won | ||
| 2017 | Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival | Best Short | Dusk | Won | ||
| 2017 | North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival | Best Trans International Short | Dusk | Won | ||
| 2017 | Out & Loud - Pune International Queer Film Festival | Best Short Film | Dusk | Won | ||
| 2017 | OUT at the Movies Int'l LGBT Film Fest | Best Short Film | Dusk | Won | ||
| 2017 | Out Here Now: the Kansas City LGBT Film Festival | Best Dramatic Short | Dusk | Won | ||
| 2017 | Outflix Film Festival | Best Foreign Short | Dusk | Won | ||
| 2016 | Best Foreign Short | Dawn | Won | |||
| 2015 | Best Foreign Short | Chance | Won | |||
| 2016 | Oxford Film Festival, Mississippi, USA | Best LBGTQ Film | Chance | Nominated | ||
| 2017 | SENE Film, Music and Art Festival | Best LGBT Short | Dusk | Won | ||
| LGBT Short | Dusk | Won | ||||
| 2016 | Best LGBT Short | Chance | Won | |||
| 2017 | Shropshire Rainbow Film Festival | Best British Short Film | Dusk | Won | ||
| 2016 | Stamped Pensacola LGBT Film Festival | Best Short Film | Boys on Film: Time & Tied | Won | ||
| 2017 | Translations: The Seattle Transgender Film Festival | Best Narrative Short | Dusk | Won |