Josh Harwood

Doug and Lynnie’s love was a source of imagination and invention, an opening of eyes. They shared a turreted house on the seawall, careers in law and mathematics, a passion for helping those less fortunate, and two bright sons who found their own ways to true-love and success. The Nadeau's were known in the community as gracious and inspiring people. But when a mortal illness caused Doug to confront his life, bringing his 40 year old crossdressing secret outside of the privacy of his bedroom, the people of Marblehead were shocked Lynn didn’t abandon ship. This wasn’t the man she married. Doug was changing, Donna was taking his place. Two decades later we find Lynn surrounded by old pictures, older stories, and shards of mirrors used, years past, in Doug/Donna’s illusionist art. This short format documentary blends home movies, interviews, love letters, and photographs to reveal the cracks of human identity and the losses entwined within change. Why We Need the Funding: We need $10,000 in order to fund all of these post-production aspects: Editing Color Grading Score/Soundtrack PR & Marketing Film Festival Submissions Art & Poster Design Some of the People Involved: Josh Harwood (Cinematographer/Director): Josh Harwood is a cinematographer whose work blends a cinematic visual style with intimate, character-driven storytelling. With a background in commercial filmmaking, he has shot campaigns and branded films as well as short-form documentaries and portrait pieces that center real people and lived experience. My Husband, Donna marks his debut documentary. In approaching the film, Josh is committed to telling the story with care, respect, and emotional honesty, both toward the family at its center and the broader trans and queer communities it touches upon. His work is guided by a desire to listen closely, honor lived experience, and create space for complexity without judgment. Josh's website Luther Clement-Lam (Editor): Luther Clement-Lam is an award-winning director and editor whose work has screened at the Sundance Film Festival, been shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short, and earned honors from DOC NYC and Cinema Eye. In 2020, he was named to DOC NYC’s 40 Under 40 list, recognizing emerging leaders in documentary filmmaking. As an editor, Luther has worked on feature films and documentary series distributed by HBO, Amazon, and PBS, including Katrina Babies. His directing work, including Stay Close, has received critical acclaim for its emotional precision and intimate storytelling. With a background spanning narrative, documentary, and music-driven storytelling, Luther brings a sharp editorial eye and a deeply collaborative approach—shaping films that are both structurally rigorous and emotionally resonant. Luther's website Tyler Jenkins (Composer): Tyler Jenkins is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, artist, and composer whose work spans genres, styles, and mediums. Beginning as a jazz drummer in New Haven, Connecticut, he has performed at venues including Radio City Music Hall and the San Francisco Bluegrass Festival, and collaborated with artists such as Alicia Keys, Tommy Richman, and Grammy-winning producer Jim Pugh. His work as a composer has been recognized with the National Endowment for the Arts Artist Corps Fellowship, the Mellon Foundation Composer Spotlight Program, and Best Original Score at the LA Crime and Horror Film Festival. He was commissioned by the New Haven Symphony Orchestra in 2024 and honored with the Bitsie Clark Artist Grant. After scoring the Off-Broadway production Death By A Thousand Cuts, he founded Goldchain Entertainment, a boutique composition studio, where he continues to craft bold, cinematic scores that position him as a rising force in contemporary film composition. Tyler's Website Many others... Ella Nadeau (Associate Producer) Maddy Thorner (Associate Producer) Escher Nadeau (Sound Mixer) Abby Rhodes (Sound Mixer) Richard Stimpson (Lighting) Why this film is important now? This film invites your truest self out of its shell. It shows how it is possible to let go and have those you love catch you, to let questions guide you towards fulfillment, and to change before it’s too late. The love between Lynn and Doug/Donna was an immovable object, weathering the pressure of change and the universe’s inclination towards chaos. Their bond reshaped both them and those around them, expanding what love and acceptance could look like in their communities and tracing how courage can bring us closer to a truer, more compassionate way of living. At a time when American states are revoking gender-identity rights from trans and nonbinary people, this story of seeking recognition reminds us of how vital it is to feel safe and loved in our own skin. Additional Ways to Contribute: Not everyone is in a position to give, and that’s okay! One of the most powerful ways you can support My Husband, Donna is by helping it reach people. Talk about it. Share it on social media. Send it to someone who might connect with it. The more people who hear about it, the more this story can find its audience. Risks and challenges: From the beginning, we understood that this story wasn’t ours alone to tell. It involved deeply personal histories, evolving identities, and relationships that carried both love and strain, so we made a conscious effort to keep everyone involved included, heard, and respected throughout the process. We approached each conversation with care, allowing people to speak on their own terms and at their own pace, knowing that experiences around gender identity, especially in earlier decades, were often shaped by secrecy, misunderstanding, or even fear. At the same time, we were mindful not to impose a modern lens too forcefully, but instead to honor the complexity of how each person understood these moments in their own time. The challenge was balancing honesty with sensitivity, telling a story that doesn’t simplify or flatten anyone’s experience. Perspectives within the family don’t always align, and that tension is part of the truth, but we remained careful to present those differences with empathy rather than judgment. We recognized that for some, this journey meant openness and self-expression, while for others it involved loss, confusion, or grief. Our responsibility was to hold space for all of that, to make a film that reflects not just a trans narrative, but a human one, grounded in dignity, care, and the understanding that identity and love can both be complicated and deeply intertwined And above all thank you