Interview with Sungbin Byun, director of God’s Daughter Dances

To somebody who hasn’t seen God’s Daughter Dances, how would you introduce it?
Military service is mandatory for all men who hold Korean citizenship. In this context, Korean MTF trans men must pass through a phase of recognition as women. This film is the story of an MTF trans person who tries to live as a woman in a Korean society that has an ironic side. The film’s subject comes off as heavy but amusing at the same time with the character’s dance and the music.

How did you decide on this topic and protagonist to make a film about?
When I was an officer in the army, there was a situation where homosexuals were being caught in military camps. Faced with a reality that defines a person as a criminal based on their sexual orientation, I was able to think deeply about the status of people whose identity is denied by the simple fact of their existence and not by their choice. After that, I looked at various problems that LGBTQ people come up against during their military service, and I chose the subject of trans people.

Did you have a cast in mind? How did you approach casting?
Actually, I met the actor Haejun in the camp during my military service. We became acquainted through the army, and not because of the film. Later, as I was writing the first draft of the script, I immediately thought of Haejun for the main role. Initially the protagonist of the film was not a dancer but we altered the script to suit Haejun better, since he’s a voguer in real life. I wanted Haejun to sink as naturally as possible into the character Shin-mi’s skin without erasing Haejun’s own nature too much.

Why do you think this is an important topic to show in film today?
I think art should talk about human suffering. There’s lots of talk everywhere on the subject of human rights for the LGBTQ community, and yet many LGBTQ people still feel very isolated. Our thoughts aren’t enough to reach them. In the film, there are people with different opinions: those who find the character very pretty, who still think of her as a man and not a woman, who are indifferent, who encourage her… Through these different characters, the film  questions viewers on how they see trans people.

What do you think the future holds for short films?
For me, a short film is a poem. Poetry allows us to discover the relationship of humans to the world through unusual language. Short films aren’t simply films that are short in terms of length; their role is to directly reflect the world around us through poetic symbols. This particular charm of the short film has been around for several decades and will always continue.

If we were to go back into lockdown, what cultural delights would you recommend to alleviate our boredom?
Poetry, music and films.

God’s Daughter Dances is being screened as part of International Competition I1.

Translator Korean > French: Joohee Heo