Prodigal Sons 2008

From a small Montana town, a teenager named Paul rises to become a model of high school success: a standout football hero, socially popular, and frequently named the class valedictorian—the kind of student peers admire and teachers praise. Yet from kindergarten onward, Paul senses something off about the male gender assigned at birth. Over time, Paul begins to realize that she is transgender and adopts the name Kimberly Reed. With this new identity, Kim grows into a confident, accomplished woman and embraces her orientation as a lesbian, navigating a path that blends pride with the challenges of public perception.

As Kim’s life unfolds, transition brings both personal growth and friction. She builds a life rooted in authenticity while forging deeper connections with family and friends, learning to balance her own happiness with the expectations of those around her. The journey is intimate and public at once, revealing the resilience it takes to live openly as a transgender woman.

Kim’s younger brother, Todd, also grapples with his own identity and eventually comes out as gay, adding another layer to the family’s evolving dynamic. The documentary follows these revelations with care, showing how each family member processes change, support, and the fear of judgment.

Driven by personal history, Kimberly Reed becomes a filmmaker and returns home to Montana for her high school reunion. Through intimate footage, she documents interactions with family, old friends, and classmates as she strives to educate viewers about what it means to be transgender. A central thread is her attempt to reconcile with her adopted brother Marc McKerrow, who struggles to see her as female and to accept the new reality of their relationship. The film unfolds with surprising and sometimes unsettling discoveries, including the revelation that Marc is the secret grandson of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth, a fact that rocks the family and reframes many past assumptions.

As the narrative deepens, Marc’s mental health deteriorates, eventually leading to voluntary admission to a mental health facility. Kim confronts her entire past—childhood and early adulthood—recognizing how those years were lived under a male identity and how they have shaped who she is today. The process is painful, healing, and ultimately hopeful, illustrating the complexities of growing up transgender within a family that is learning to adapt.

Across its core stories, the documentary examines how growing up transgender affects development within families and society at large, while also showing how mental illness can challenge loyalties and complicate the path toward understanding. It’s a portrait of resilience, fluid identities, and the hard-won clarity that comes from choosing authenticity.

In the broader public eye, Kim and her mother, Carol McKerrow, shared their journey on The Oprah Winfrey Show, appearing in the segment “Transgender Transition” on February 11, 2010, to discuss Kim’s life and the documentary. The film closes with a reminder that personal truth, family bonds, and the search for belonging can echo far beyond any single life story.