Image+Nation
SECOND NATURE: GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN THE ANIMAL WORLD

SECOND NATURE: GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN THE ANIMAL WORLD

DREW DENNY | USA | 2025 | 80 MIN | ENGLISH

DREW DENNY | USA | 2025 | 80 MIN | ENGLISH

DocumentaryA QUESTION OF GENDERCOMPETITION

Synopsis

Of the 8.7 million living animal species on Earth, thousands defy our expectations. Inspired by trans evolutionary biologist Dr. Joan Roughgarden’s groundbreaking work, narrator Elliot Page and preeminent queer, BIPOC, and immigrant scientists transcend well-trod narratives, revealing how survival hinges on being the most open to change. The scientific establishment has long been stymied by suppression and resistant to evidence debunking the primacy of three rigid categories: “insatiable” males, “coy” females, and “maladaptive and unnatural” others. But, from university labs to the forests of Costa Rica, that picture is changing, opening our eyes to a nature teeming with variations: polyandrous tamarins and polygamous Capuchin monkeys, “very gay” water fowl and sex-role reversed species like seahorses. We are guided through this diversity by sweeping footage, Caitlin Craggs’ delightfully quirky animations, and mind-blowing facts (for example, did you know 50% of fish on a coral reef are members of a sex-changing species?). In a political present where truth is under attack, Second Nature follows the trailblazers who are shifting the consensus from “sometimes this happens” to a codified science, leaving the “quaint myth” of the binary in the historical dust.

Trailer

Filmmaker Bio

A Sundance Lab Fellow and Grantee, Drew Denny champions women and LGBTQ+ stories across narrative film, documentary, multi-media, and performance. Her queer animal feature documentary Second Nature, narrated by Elliot Page, is completed, alongside her feature narrative Love and Chaos, starring Christine Taylor, Bebe Wood, and Lux Pascal. Her debut feature The Most Fun I’ve Ever Had With My Pants On won multiple festival awards and earned her a spot on The Advocate’s “40 Under 40.” Drew’s work spans narrative, documentary, and commercial projects, with credits including Amanda Plummer, Chloe Moretz, Gabourey Sidibe, and clients such as A&E, CNN, and Spotify.

Producer

Drew Denny, Megan Ellison, Elliot Page, Matt Jordan Smith, Jennifer Steinman-Sternin, Caitlin Craggs, Tani Ikeda, Jaclyn Moore

Writer

Drew Denny, Jennifer Steinman-Sternin

Cinematographer

Nikki Bramley, Tani Ikeda, Keoni Bowthorpe, Claire Pijman, Tijana Petrovik, Ino Yang-Popper

Cast

  • Elliot Page
  • Dr. Joan Roughgarden
  • Dr. Patricia Brennan
  • Dr. Amy Parish
  • Dr. Joseph Graves
  • Dr. Frans de Waal
  • Dr. Marcela Benítez
  • River Suh
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