Born With It

- Drama (PG)

 

Director: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, Jr

Country: Japan

Length: 17min 0s

Language: Japanese

Subtitle: English

Completion: 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living in Tokyo, Keisuke Fujii, a half Japanese half Ghanaian boy, never really considered the color of his skin; but when he and his mother move to rural Japan, the other kids assume that since he is of African descent he must have AIDS. Unsure of how to address these prejudices, Keisuke sets out to find answers and confront the cruel rumors once and for all.

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Director: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, Jr

Writer: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, Jr

Producer: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, Jr, Engin Yeniduniya, Song Kwang-Gi, Kaoru Misu

DP: Jeff Wong

Editor: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, Jr

Cast: Dadie T, Aoba Kawai, Ryota Shinoda, Koudai Izumiya, Masakazu Saiga, Kyoko Yanagihara

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Director's message:

My vision for this film was to depict the struggle of a half-Japanese child as he tries to find self-confidence in a world where he feels like he doesn't belong. I hope that this film helps inspire confidence in people of all ages, nationalities and sexualities that feel that they are “different” from those around them.

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Film Festival Awards:

• 2016 NBCUniversal Short Film Festival (Best Film)

• 2016 CAAMFest (aka SF Asian American International Film Festival) (Best Student Short)

• 2015 Toronto Intl Film Festival – Kids Section (Honorable Mention for Best Film)

• 2015 LA EigaFest (Audience Award)

• 2014 Short Shorts Intl Film Fest Asia (Ibaraki Short Film Award Finalist)

• 2015 Pan African Film Festival (Best Short Film)

 

Film Festival Appearance:

• 2016 Japan Cuts Film Festival

• 2016 NewFilmmakers LA March

• 2016 Bentonville Film Festival

• 2015 ClermontFerrand

• Intl Short Film Festival

• 2015 Heartland Film Festival

• 2015 Seoul Int’l Youth Film Festival

• 2015 NancyLorraine

• Intl Short Film Festival 2015 BronzeLens Film Festival

• 2014 SKIP City Intl Film Fest

• 2014 Sapporo Shorts Fest

• 2014 Kyoto Intl Student Film Festival