Really Happy Someday

Really Happy Someday

J STEVENS | CANADA | 2024 | 99 MIN | ENGLISH FST

J STEVENS | CANADA | 2024 | 99 MIN | ENGLISH FST

FeatureMADE AU CANADAA Question of Gender

Subtitles: French

Presented by

Telefilm Canada

Synopsis

Torontonian Z, a transmasculine musical theatre performer, has NYC aspirations. The testosterone he’s on has other plans. Facing unpredictable losses and the foreign feeling of his changing body, Z forges connections that reveal how, sometimes, our favourite places are those we have yet to find. Meeting at now-defunct The Beaver, Z (co-writer/producer Breton Lalama) and Danielle (Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah) are smitten. Danielle supports him as he aims for stardom, but falls short: forced to become a barback bartender at Toronto mainstay Squirly’s after a disappointing audition. There, he’s taken under the wing of his cute, charismatic boss, Santi (Xavier Lopez), who knows a lot more about what he’s going through than Z realizes. Although Z can no longer hit Éponine’s notes in Les Misérables, with the help of his vocal coach (Ali Garrison) and a “dream world” goal, he reaches for a more compatible voice. And as we watch Z retrain, we witness actor Breton Lalama do the same in real time, both coming to terms with who they are becoming. Helmed by non-binary filmmaker J Stevens, this is incisive, richly detailed cinema afforded the flow of a life lived authentically.

Filmmaker Bio

J Stevens is an award-winning director, creator and writer whose work centres on dynamic, personal and boundary-pushing LGBTQ2S+ stories. Their feature directorial debut, REALLY HAPPY SOMEDAY, premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival and received multiple awards on the international festival circuit. In television, J directed two episodes of Tubi’s THE Z-SUITE and previously worked on the Peabody Award–winning series SORT OF (HBO Max/CBC). J is also the founder and president of the Spindle Films Foundation, a nonprofit supporting transgender, non-binary and gender-diverse Canadian filmmakers.

Director's Statement

SLO PITCH grew from the drama and hijinks of recreational sports and a shared love of mockumentary comedy. […] We wanted a mostly female, non-binary and queer beer-league team where women and non-binary people could “just be idiots” and embrace dumb humour. […] Representation is simply along for the ride: above all, the series is meant to be an escape, “a barrel of laughs” that lets audiences forget, for a moment, how overwhelming the world can feel.

Producer

Breton Lalama, J. Stevens

Writer

Breton Lalama, J. Stevens

Cinematographer

J. Stevens

Cast

Breton Lalama
Khadidjah Roberts-Abdullah
Xavier Lopez

PARTNERS

Telefilm Canada

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