XX+XY (2022)

Being a teenager is hard! How are you meant to navigate hormones, crushes, annoying family and schoolwork? But Jay’s got it even harder: joining a new school and trying to understand their body as they go through puberty as an intersex person. Luckily, they’ve got the support of old friend Sera, and a burgeoning new friendship with popular boy Wooram. But as hormones rage, the trio’s friendship becomes a very messy love triangle. Who will Jay choose and does who they’re attracted to dictate who they are?

Born with both XX +XY chromosomes, Jay goes to a public high school when faced with choosing a gender. Jay hopes that by studying the boys and girls at the school, Jay can figure out which decision to make. But contrary to expectations, Jay's school life turns out to be more confusing than ever.

Jay's childhood friend Sera makes a secret proposal to have the perfect first sexual experience together. To complicate things even more, Jay's classmate Wooram confesses his feelings for Jay. To make matters worse, the radio DJ Hwama suddenly shows up and threatens to reveal Jay's identity. What decision will Jay make in the midst of everything?

Director Biography - Soh-Yoon Lee

Graduated from the Theater Department at Sungkyunkwan University and completed the filmmaking course at the New York Film Academy. She currently works as a producer at Studio Dragon, a drama production company.

Director Statement - Soh-Yoon Lee

It's been a while since LGBT people have appeared in the media. However, the biggest conflict for them has always been how to come out to the older generation. Now I want to move past that problem and talk about the future generation. What would it be like to tell the story of a person who is trying to make a decision for the future instead of hiding out out of fear being caught by their parents or neighbors? What would the person want most? These questions led to the plot of XX +XY.

It is the age of choices, and your gender is now something you can choose. The parents of a Canadian child did not specify the gender of their baby so that the baby could choose its own gender when it grew up. Therefore, the baby's sex was listed as "Unknown." On the other hand, for most babies born as intersex, the parents make this decision at birth because they fear that the baby may have difficulties later in life in a world divided into males and females.

What if a child can choose a gender and a parent supports the child's decision?

If you could choose your gender, could you avoid gender conflict? These questions lead you to follow Jay's story, and the answer is quickly found: not always. Perhaps the root of all problems lies in a lack of respect and consideration. In this world where dichotomous thinking, social pressure to fit individuals into a stereotypical framework, and the attitude of considering something "different" as "wrong" are prevalent, a child born with XX +XY constantly agonizes over one's immature self and the choices they have to make: Who am I? Which is the right choice? Which choice would I not regret? I wanted to show that it is natural for adolescents with immature egos to continue to worry about themselves and the future, rather than dismissing those worries as something special.

Please tell us your motivation for making your film:

It's been a while since LGBT people have appeared in the media. However, the biggest conflict for them has always been how to come out to the older generation. Now I want to move past that problem and talk about the future generation. What would it be like to tell the story of a person who is trying to make a decision for the future instead of hiding out out of fear being caught by their parents or neighbors? What would the person want most? These questions led to the plot of XX +XY. It is the age of choices, and your gender is now something you can choose. The parents of a Canadian child did not specify the gender of their baby so that the baby could choose its own gender when it grew up. Therefore, the baby's sex was listed as "Unknown." On the other hand, for most babies born as intersex, the parents make this decision at birth because they fear that the baby may have difficulties later in life in a world divided into males and females. What if a child can choose a gender and a parent supports the child's decision? If you could choose your gender, could you avoid gender conflict? These questions lead you to follow Jay's story, and the answer is quickly found: not always. Perhaps the root of all problems lies in a lack of respect and consideration. In this world where dichotomous thinking, social pressure to fit individuals into a stereotypical framework, and the attitude of considering something "different" as "wrong" are prevalent, a child born with XX +XY constantly agonizes over one's immature self and the choices they have to make: Who am I? Which is the right choice? Which choice would I not regret? I wanted to show that it is natural for adolescents with immature egos to continue to worry about themselves and the future, rather than dismissing those worries as something special.

Credits:

Soh-Yoon Lee

Director

Sung-Yeun Hong

Writer

Yu Si-Yeon

Producer

Hyun-Ho Ahn

Key Cast

Woo-Sung Choi

Key Cast

Ji-in Kim

Key Cast

Specs:

Project Title (Original Language):

XX+XY

Project Type:

Feature

Genres:

Drama, Romance

Runtime:

2 hours 8 minutes 19 seconds

Completion Date:

May 10, 2022

Production Budget:

800,000 USD

Country of Origin:

South Korea

Country of Filming:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Shooting Format:

digital

Aspect Ratio:

2:1

Film Color:

Color

First-time Filmmaker:

Yes

Student Project:

No