Lyric

The Fish with One Sleeve
< 2021 / 34mins / Japan / HD / 16:9 / Stereo / Color / DCP >
Trailer : N/A
Official Homepage : N/A

<Tagline>
Forever myself.

<Logline>
A 34-minute story of a trans woman gently but firmly taking the first step.
Living my true self.

<Story>
Hikari Shintani (Yu Ishizuka), a trans woman, works at an ornamental fish company and lives alone in Tokyo. While occasionally feeling an indescribable distance between herself and others, she shares a good rapport with her coworkers and a trans woman friend. One day, Hikari returns to her hometown for a business trip. To reveal her true self as a woman, she gathers her courage and texts her old classmate Takashi, a long-unrequited love from high school.

<Introduction>
A Japanese trans woman sees herself as incomplete and lives her social life with low self-esteem. Tsuyoshi Shoji, an openly bisexual film director highly acclaimed for his LGBTQ+ films, captures the journey of the trans woman taking her first firm step by overcoming various microaggressions.

Until recently in Japan, transgender roles were often played by cisgender actors. In this film, the actors were selected in Japan's first-ever audition held specifically for trans women. Out of many applicants, the fashion model Yu Ishizuka was cast for the main role. Few other trans women were also cast through the audition.

As part of the COVID-19 measure, the entire film was shot speedily by a small crew with only one Sony Xperia 1 smartphone.
<CAST>
Hikari / Koki ... Yu Ishizuka
Chiaki ... Rika Hirohata
Takashi Hisada ... Hisao Kurozumi
Tomoka Igari, Taijiro Tamura, Hideko Hara

<STAFF>
Written, Directed & Produced by Tsuyoshi Shoji
Based on Yumi Fuzuki's poem "The Fish with One Sleeve"
Cinematographer ... Hajime Kanda
Lighting Technician ... Kazushi Maruyama
Sound Recordist & Sound Effects Artist ... Kota Sasai
Art Director ... Kaori Haga
Editor & VFX Artist ... Tsuyoshi Shoji
Music by Yu Ojima
Theme song "RED FISH"
Lyrics by Yumi Fuzuki
Composed by Yu Ojima
Sung by Miyna Usui

Produced & Distributed by BAGMOTH
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