Friday Harbor Film Festival Best of the Fest presents, “The Most Dangerous Year,” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16. Admission is free and more information is available at www.fhff.org.

What happens when a community stands up for its civil rights? The Most Dangerous Year tells the story of a small group of Washington State families caught in the middle of the nation’s “bathroom wars.”

Director Vlada Knowlton, a Seattle area filmmaker and parent of a transgender child, takes watchers to the front lines of this heart-wrenching political battle. Her film details how she and her family worked to combat a Washington state bill intended to force all people to use the public restroom that coincides with their birth sex. Then, joining other families of transgender children and a coalition of state lawmakers and civil rights activists, they fought numerous other discriminatory initiatives. Instead of shaming those who question transgender rights, this film invites a conversation.

As Washington state Senator Joe Fain points out, we lose the battle for understanding when we stop speaking with one another.