Private Project

Zero as You Are

This is a documentary about the first failure case of sex reassignment surgery in Japan.

In Japan, transgender people have to go through removing reproductive organs in order to change the registered sex. Quite a few people can make mistakes in undertaking the surgery which can harm health, body and mind.

I filmed the protagonist for 9 years, age 15 to 24, who went through all the process only to find that he chose the wrong gender. But is it really a failure? The judgment is all up to each viewer.

"I am a boy, though born with the body of a girl. That is my unique quality. " The story is a 3000 day journey, to find the true self while drifting between a boy and a girl.

  • Miyuki Tokoi
    Director
  • Miyuki Tokoi
    Producer
  • Sky/Acorn Kobayashi
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    ぼくが性別「ゼロ」に戻るとき
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 24 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    July 4, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    1,500,000 JPY
  • Country of Origin:
    Japan
  • Country of Filming:
    Japan
  • Language:
    Japanese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Miyuki Tokoi

Miyuki Tokoi has been producing/directing various documentary films mainly in UK and Japan as a freelance producer/director. Currently a director for a news show on Japanese public broadcaster.

Filmography
2009-2018 NHK World: “Newsline” （24 hours English news channel）
2007-8 NHK World "Insight & Foresight" （Interview program）
2007 Al Jazeera　"An Ideal Husband" （20 min documentary about Japanese women to try to find western husbands）
2007 Al Jazeera　　"Yakuza Daughter"　（20 min documentary about a woman who was born in Yakuza family and her struggle）
2006 NHK: The World of Ernest T. Seton ”（90 mins x 3 documentary about an animal researcher and painter）
2002 Feature documentary " The Emperor's Tram Girls" （35 mins documentary about girl tram drivers during the WWII in Hiroshima）

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Director Statement

I have always wondered since my childhood what it means by ‘standard’. Do I have to give up some of my features to be a standard? Is it really wrong to be out of the standard? Because to me, current society seems to have a lot of standards that we have to fit ourselves into and we often categorize ourselves based on those standards, including sexuality. Sometimes we are categorized into something that we don’t want. In extreme cases we may be labeled as ‘abnormal’ if we differ from the conventional standards. But I think we cannot really live freely in such a society. Instead, I want to live in a society without boundaries where we can be our true selves, and we can respect each other and accept our differences. I make this film hoping to contribute to achieving such an ideal society.