The moment Simon de Voil told me that he was going to take testosterone, I recognised the opportunity this presented. Inspired by the guerrilla approach Kate Davis took in the inception of Southern Comfort, her documentary about female-to-male transsexual Robert Eads, I bought a MiniDV camera, and unfunded, started filming my friend's transition. As a one-person crew with a small camera, I was able to capture significant, very personal moments with intimacy and sensitivity.

It was not my intention to take a sterile, clinical approach to the story: transgender people are people, not the sufferers of some freak medical condition. My own transgender identification has been central to the desire to depict the experience in a way that avoids sensationalism. By taking a deliberately non-medical approach to the story, and focussing firmly on character, I hope I have brought a human perspective to the subject.

This vision has seen the film unfold through an organic working process, and the generosity and trust of the participants. The small production team of myself, producer Wendy Griffin, editor Bert Eeles and dubbing mixer John Cobban has ensured that the integrity of the project has been maintained from its small beginning through to its culmination. As an artistic exploration, it has been a journey that Simon and I have taken together, as much as I have accompanied him on his journey. It is clear to me now that the film has grown way beyond the scope of my original intention. Far from being just a story about gender transition, what has emerged is a universal human story of risk, sacrifice and self-belief.