After breaking barriers in beauty and fame, Leyna Bloom reaches for a dream far more personal: to become a mother, even if she must do it alone. As she searches for love, legacy, and belonging, BLOOM reveals what it truly means for a trans woman to build family in a world still catching up.
At 35, model and actress Leyna Bloom has achieved international recognition as a trailblazing trans icon—the first trans woman of color to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue. But after years of breaking barriers in fashion and film, Leyna’s next dream is far more personal: she wants to become a mother.
BLOOM follows Leyna through an intimate, unfolding journey of self-discovery, love, and longing as she explores what it means to create life on her own terms. We witness her navigating the medical and legal challenges of fertility and parenthood for trans women, the societal stigma surrounding love and partnership, and her unwavering determination to build a family—with or without a partner.
Filmed in vérité style, the story weaves present-day footage of Leyna’s life with deeply emotional family moments, including scenes with her father, a former Chicago police officer turned shaman, and her sister, a Brooklyn-based doula. Through quiet, artful observation and poetic imagery, BLOOM reveals a woman redefining motherhood and womanhood itself, challenging the systems that limit both, and inspiring new possibilities for love, creation, and belonging.
Jill is a documentary Director, Producer, and Editor who strives to capture authentic moments of humanity that highlight our shared experience. Jill began her career in the theater, writing and producing plays at La Mama, the Dublin Fringe, the Public Theater, and as a resident artist at Mabou Mines. She pivoted to documentary with the 2010 documentary "Dancing Across Borders" (Netflix, Apple TV.). Following the success of that feature, Jill has produced many feature documentaries that have screened at major festivals including Tribeca, DOC NYC, Atlanta, Art Fifa, Hamptons, Montclair, Miami, Seattle, Woodstock, and Warsaw. Jill was a producer for the documentary, "Never Too Late: The Doc Severinson Story" (Dirs. Kevin Bright, Jeff Consiglio, PBS American Masters, 2020). Jill has written and directed three feature-length documentaries including the award-winning "Mr. Chibbs" (Peacock, Kanopy, Amazon), a 2017 Village Voice Critic’s Pick, "Mr. Chibbs" traces the rise and fall of NBA legend Kenny Anderson, and "Seat 20D" (Amazon, Kanopy, Apple TV) a meditation on the healing power of self-expression that follows artist Suse Lowenstein’s journey to overcome her grief following the murder of her son. Jill received her MFA from Hunter College, where she studied documentary filmmaking. Jill's most personal documentary, "Beyond the Gaze: Jule Campbell's Swimsuit Issue," premiered at Woodstock Film Festival in October 2024 and screened at DOC NYC and 22 festivals around the country. It premiered theatrically at NYC's IFC Center. The film examines Jule's trailblazing life and career from a feminist perspective.
