BIRTHDAY
In a future in Japan where gender can be altered through body transformation technology, a teenage girl grapples with her best friend's transition from female to male and his confession of love, leading her to self-discovery and acceptance.
About BIRTHDAY
Genre: Futuristic Drama / LGBTQ+
Length: 100 minutes
Language: Japanese
Target: 18-40 years old
Introduction
We present a compelling adaptation opportunity for the critically acclaimed and popular novel, "BIRTHDAY". With over 200,000 copies sold in Japan and an impending release in Italy, this original narrative has already captivated a vast audience. Set in a future Japan, the film will translate this touching story about friendship, identity, and acceptance, brought forth by groundbreaking DNA transformation technology.
Synopsis
"BIRTHDAY" tells the story of Hikari, a sophomore in an all-girls high school in a conservative rural town. The tranquility of her life is shattered when her best friend, Chisato, transforms from a female body into a male body during their summer vacation, taking advantage of a new DNA transformation technology. Chisato's transformation and confession of love throw Hikari into emotional turmoil, a journey of self-exploration and ultimately reconciliation, guided by the developer and first subject of the transformation technology, Manabu.
Long Synopsis
Japan in a time when technology was approved to transform female bodies into men and male bodies into women by applying cell replacement technology.
Hikari, a second-year high school student at an all-girls school in a conservative rural town, is shocked to know the morning after summer vacation that her childhood friend Chisato has been transformed from a female body into a male body. Since the law protected students who underwent this gender transformation surgery from attending a conventional school, Chisato continues to attend the all-girls school as before with Hikari. While the whole school is buzzing with rumors about Chisato, Hikari is perplexed by Chisato, who has never once confided his true feelings about wanting to be in a man's body. Chisato and Hikari had been best friends for 17 years growing up playing together. Hikari feels as if she has suddenly lost her best friend, and she cannot accept the fact that Chisato has become a man.
When they were young, there was an incident in which a girl in their class was raped and killed by her relative's brother. Around that time, Chisato got a haircut and started learning Tae Kwon Do. Chisato may have always felt suffocated living as a woman in this conservative town.
However, Hikari's imagination and Chisato's hidden reason were slightly different. One day, Chisato confesses to Hikari, "I have always loved Hikari as a man, and I wanted to talk to you after I became a man in my true form." Hikari is unintentionally upset by Chisato's one-sided confession. The next day, Chisato stops coming to school and transfers to another school.
A few weeks later, Hikari sees Chisato on a date with a cute girl at a local shopping mall. Thinking that Chisato has a girlfriend, Hikari plans to have sex with another boy for the first time, hoping that she too will have a boyfriend and break with the past.
Just before she does, however, Hikari meets Manabu, an acquaintance who is the developer of the gender transformation surgery and the first subject of the procedure. The girl she saw at the mall was Manabu. Manabu tells Hikari about the surgery and Chisato's story. On the night before Christmas, Hikari goes to see Chisato to reconnect with her.
Characters
1
Setting
The film is set in a conservative rural town in a future Japan, a time when gender transformation technology has been approved and challenges societal norms.
2
Themes
"BIRTHDAY" explores themes of friendship, identity, transformation, love, acceptance, and societal norms, set against the backdrop of a technologically advanced future.
3
Market Analysis
The novel "BIRTHDAY" has seen tremendous success in Japan, selling over 200,000 copies and gearing for an Italian release in September 2023. This, coupled with the increased representation and acceptance of LGBTQ+ themes in media, provides a promising market for the film adaptation. Films such as "The Danish Girl", "Moonlight", and "Love, Simon" demonstrate a growing interest in narratives exploring gender identity and sexuality.
4
Budget and
Production Plan
While an accurate budget can only be estimated following a detailed script breakdown, similar films have been produced within the range of 40,000US$. Pre-production will take around 6 months, followed by a shooting period of 6 weeks, and post-production of 6 months.
5
Conclusion
"BIRTHDAY" promises a poignant exploration of identity, love, and acceptance in a rapidly changing world. It's unique futuristic setting, compelling characters, and emotionally resonant themes make it a timely and potentially impactful film.
Director's Statement
- Mutsuki Kameyama
Discrimination and prejudice against LGBTQ+ people still exist strongly in Japan, and they are daily forced to fight against the "ignorance" of many citizens in their daily lives and communication with the majority population. I believe this is partly due to the fact that Japanese people are still unfamiliar with the rite of passage of "coming out" and partly due to a lack of knowledge about sexual minorities.
Hikari, the protagonist of "BIRTHDAY," has been growing up with Chisato, who was also a physically active woman, since she was a little girl, and lived for 17 years thinking that Hikari knew everything about her best friend Chisato. However, one day, her best friend suddenly confides in her that his gender identity has always been male since childhood. This is a common "coming out" situation, but I think it is very important to note that this story is about the person on the receiving end of the coming out. Yes, in this story, Hikari, the coming-out person, is confused, irritated, and temporarily loses trust in Chisato. How Hikari overcomes this trouble must be a "case study" for many people.
The "case study story" is very important to overcome the barrier of lack of knowledge and lack of understanding among the majority population. And for sexual minorities themselves, this will be a film that will warmly support them as they try to muster up the courage to overcome the rite of passage that is coming out.
The film certainly has elements of science fiction, but more than that, I also believe that it can be a catalyst for transgender people and other sexual minorities to propose a positive way of life.
Director's Biography
MUTSUKI KAMEYAMA (Japan, they/them)
Film director, born in Tokyo.
After graduating from Nihon University College of Art, Department of Cinema, they directed and wrote screenplays for films and dramas and directed commercials, TV, music videos, and stage productions. Their science fiction film “12 Months of KAI,” produced during Covid-19, won the Best Sci-Fi Feature Film at the Phoenix Film Festival / International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival in the US., the first ever for a Japanese.
After winning awards around the world, they were selected to direct and co-write the film “Left Hand of the Devil” based on the latest work by Victor Santos, the author of the Netflix film “Polar” starring Mads Mikkelsen, after its screening at the Sci-Fi London film festival in the UK.
