Maddie Ziegler keeps adding projects to her acting résumé. After appearing in projects like HBO Max's The Fallout, Steven Spielberg's West Side Story, and The Book of Henry, the dancer-turned-actor is now set to star in indie feature film Fitting In, and Teen Vogue has the exclusive first look at the official trailer.
Touted as a "traumedy," Fitting In is a semi-autobiographical retelling written and directed by award-winner Molly McGlynn (known for her work in projects like Grown-ish and Grace and Frankie) and executive produced by Janelle Monáe, among many others. The film stars Maddie Ziegler and Emily Hampshire as the leading mother-daughter duo, with Djouliet Amara, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, and Ki Griffin in key supporting roles.
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Fitting In tells the story of 16-year-old Lindy (played by) after she is unexpectedly diagnosed with MRKH syndrome, a reproductive condition also known as vaginal agenesis. (In standard terms, when the reproductive system is not fully developed, resulting in an underdeveloped or absent uterus and/or vaginal canal.) Per the film's official synopsis, Lindy's diagnosis “upends her plans to have sex, her presumptions about womanhood and sexuality, her relationship with her mother, and most importantly, herself.”
"Making Fitting In was my way of reclaiming parts of myself that I never had or were taken away," McGlynn tells Teen Vogue over email. “I wanted to ask big questions about identity and our bodies without knowing all the answers because only those living in their body can say what it is or what it isn't. Watch it and think, but laugh too because finding humor in the absurd is how I survived the horror of learning to accept the body I've been given.”
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"What starts out as a more traditional coming-of-age 'losing your virginity' (quotes because I abhor that phrase) movie gets turned on its head," McGlynn further explains in a press release. “I was diagnosed with the reproductive disorder MRKH Syndrome when I was sixteen [...] My single mother was recovering from breast cancer and dealing with losing her breast and changing femininity, and I was learning I lost things I never even knew I lost in the first place, specifically, a uterus and my vagina, most of it anyway. Crazy, right? I know! I had to make a film about it.”
After premiering at SXSW earlier this year, Fitting In is finally slated to hit U.S. theaters on February 2, 2024. Watch the official trailer for the movie below:
