Yu Ishizuka, right, and director Tsuyoshi Shoji (Shinya Monma)
For his short film The Fish With One Sleeve, director Tsuyoshi Shoji wanted to cause a stir by casting a trans woman for a trans role.
In Japan, Shoji said many transgender roles are played by cisgender actors who feel comfortable with their gender identity at birth, providing less employment opportunities for transgender actors.
Transgender characters end up being portrayed either comically or tragically in many cases, and they are only shown as people who are different from others in society, the openly bisexual director said.
On the current film scene, trans actors have few opportunities to represent their communities, while they tend to be portrayed with overblown drama.
Academy Award® Accredited: Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2021: Smartphone Film Competition Supported By Sony
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Dear Tenant (2020) - 23 Far East Film Festival
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Jun 12, 2021
Since its start in 1999, Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & Asia) has become the largest festival of its kind in Asia. This year, it is presenting a hybrid edition, with online venues showing films beginning on April 27 and the festival proper held June 11-21 at venues across Tokyo.
In addition to the core competition sections International (films from outside Japan and Asia), Asia International and Japan the festival will present shorts of a variety of genres on a range of platforms, including CG animation, nonfiction and smartphone films, as well as sections of shorts themed on Tokyo; made by directors aged 25 and under; and shot in a vertical format (think a standard rectangular cinema screen turned upright).