Director
Grace Hughes Hallett
Producers
Flora Stewart, James Rogan
Editor
Esther Gimenez Sanchez
Consulting Editor
Co-Editor
Assistant Editor
Cinematographer
Additional Cinematography
Music
Sound
Narration
Contact
Baton Rouge, 1995. During a feminist studies class, college student Kristi opens her textbook to discover something that turns her world upside down. For as long as she can remember, she has felt different – now she knows why.
Demanding her medical records, Kristi is finally confronted with a devastating truth: she has been lied to all her life by those she trusted most. What begins as a personal reckoning soon unearths something far bigger, rooted in a discredited 1970s psychology experiment that falsely claimed gender can be imposed on children at birth. Once hailed as a revolutionary success, the study justified the widespread practice of unnecessary surgical interventions imposed on children without consent – procedures that still persist today.
Combining archival materials, firsthand testimony, and expert insights educating the viewer about the widely misunderstood intersex community, THE SECRET OF ME lays bare a shocking lie affecting thousands worldwide, while spotlighting the resilience of those fighting for truth, autonomy and lasting change. This is more timely than ever as right-wing attacks on gender autonomy are gaining momentum.
Grace Hughes-Hallett created and produced Three Identical Strangers, produced The Dark Matter of Love, and has directed documentaries that examine a wide range of stories, from the lives of ultra-orthodox women in Israel, to the relationship between the British royal family and the press, to the world of high fashion. She is the winner of a Special Jury Award at Sundance Film Festival, a Grierson, BAFTA, and Emmy-nominated, and shortlisted for an Oscar.