bornwithit

BORN WITH IT is a short narrative film about a African-Japanese boy named KEISUKE that learns to accept how different he looks from other Japanese people. The story starts off on his first day of elementary school. At recess when he tries to play with a group of boys, one boy gets really scared and tells Keisuke that he can't join. When Keisuke asks why, the boy says that Keisuke's "skin is dark because he is sick" so Keisuke tries to prove to them AND himself that there is nothing wrong with him.

We plan to shoot this film from January 25-28th in the Japanese countryside with a crew made up of both Japanese crew and New York University (NYU) crew. This film will represent Emmanuel's NYU thesis film for the purpose of him receiving his Masters in Fine Arts degree.

Writer/Director - Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour

Emmanuel currently attends NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Asia. He has won awards for his films, participated in internationally prestigious film festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand and Palm Springs and got the opportunity to direct a short samuari film for Toei Studios Kyoto. His most recent Japanese film, THE FIRST TIME, was bought and acquired by the leading French distributor CANAL+ (the equivalent of HBO in France). To date he has set most of his films in Japan and Singapore and often tells "coming of age" stories about individuals that feel that they are not "good enough" because of their physical traits but that mature and learn to accept themselves.

Producer - Kaoru Misu

Kaoru currently works as an associate producer for production company, Booster Project, located within Toho Studios. The company was responsible for the production of the first feature film directed by an African American entitled The Harimaya bridge. Prior to this she has worked as an assistant producer to accaimed Japanese director Shunji Iwai for TV commercials and music videos. In addition to her work on larger budget films with Booster Project and Shunji Iwai she has also solo produced a locally acclaimed short film entitled "重なり連なる".