J Stevens’ Really Happy Someday will have its UK Premiere at BFI Flare on 22nd March, as part of the festival’s Official Selection. The film celebrates its UK premiere at BFI Flare in London on 22nd March, with an encore screening on 23rd March. Really Happy Someday is an award-winning story of community, identity and truly becoming yourself, without shying away from the real challenges of transitioning.
J Stevens’ (Sort Of, The Z-Suite) latest feature is an authentic portrait of the trans experience. Following its World Premiere at TIFF, Autostraddle remarked that it “pulses with the personal. It’s the latest in a series of exciting trans slice-of-life films that should have existed a decade ago…“. Co-written by J Stevens and Breton Lalama, the duo drew from their own lived experiences to create the films powerful narrative. This was echoed by Stevens’ choice to film Really Happy Someday over the span of a year, early in Lalama’s transition, to showcase the realities of transitioning.
Before he transitioned, Z (Breton Lalama, The Madness, Slasher) was a rising musical theatre star struggling with his gender identity. One year into taking testosterone, he has finally started to feel at home in his body but has lost all control of his voice. At the same time, Z’s long-term partner, Danielle (Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah, The Last of Us), feels she’s lost the person she fell in love with. Unable to book work with his changing voice, Z starts bartending, where his new boss, Santi (Xavier Lopez, We Forgot to Break Up), emboldens him to fight for himself and his dreams. Z starts working with a singing instructor, Shelly, to learn how to use his new voice, and maybe even trust himself.
Authenticity and personal experience was key in process of making the film, co-writer and lead actor Breton Lalama shared “It was important to us to shoot the film over a period of time, so we could actually observe transition working on the body and voice… We left lots of space for capturing what might happen naturally- as I transitioned, as life happened around us as we shot. Something I most appreciate about working with J is that they make time for the world to inform the story and place more value on being present than on trying to force things to happen…”
“Z’s journey mirrored mine in that we were both transitioning, and in that there was really no choice around the transition- it was start T or not continue on. I remember the moment where I really realized it- it was summer, and I was out of town shooting a TV show and I’d had a few days off and had not turned the lights on, had not got out of bed, couldn’t make myself shower because I couldn’t bear to physically interact with my body, which very much was not my body. Shortly after, I began the year-long process of proving my sanity to medical bodies so I might secure a legal testosterone prescription.“
Music plays a vital role in the film, featuring musical classics from Les Misérables, Ordinary Days and an original score from T. Thomason & Joel Waddel. Showcasing incredible music from trans musicians Lane Webber, Ceréna, Mal Blum, Russel Louder, Blurry, Transstar, The Clicks, Pillow Fite and more. Speaking on the musical influence, Director J Stevens, who was recently recognised by the Toronto Film Critics Association with the Visionary Director Award, said.
“I have always been an avid consumer of film and tv. My parents would have to pry me away from the TV growing up. But it wasn’t until I took a film studies course in grade 10 that I thought about the fact that I could actually make it myself. As a viewer I love that I get a look into stories that I otherwise wouldn’t have access to and that cinema helps people feel seen and valid. I saw the film RENT when I was in grade 8 and when Maureen and Joanne kiss it’s how I realised I was queer. I didn’t know that was an option until that moment and it blew my whole world open. So now I try to create work that might have a chance of having a similar impact on viewers and put queer and trans humanity on screen.”
“I had been attempting (poorly) to write a feature film for almost two years when I met Breton Lalama, my co-writer and the incredible lead of the film. And the day we met happened to be his one year on testosterone anniversary. That night he posted a lot of Instagram stories about his vocal transition because he really is a musical theatre performer and had been struggling through the transition. Instantly watching those Instagram stories I could see the arc of the film and the nuanced and specific representation the film could have.”
“So I reached out to Breton on Instagram and asked him if there was any way he’d co-write and then star in a film, which feels wild now! But he quickly wrote back that he’d love to and we started writing together over zoom shortly after that. Three months later we started filming the beginning of the film and then filmed in small shooting chunks over the course of a year to authentically capture transition and vocal transition on screen.“
“From the get go Breton and I had a shockingly easy flow together. We never specifically made a choice about how we would write the film. We just would set frequent zoom writing meetings and sometimes those would involve actually writing scenes, but a lot of the time it was just talking about where we dreamed the film, and Z, would go. Then we’d set goals for ourselves for the week and sometimes that was going off and writing different scenes we’d share with the other person to then take a pass of.“
“But it really was the most organic co-writing process I’ve ever been a part of.” Something an audience can look forward to watching? “I’d say cinema audiences can look forward to a film that’s a nuanced look at what it means to be who you truly are. Something I think everyone can relate to. And they can look forward to some incredible performances that I feel so grateful that I got to witness as a director. “
J Stevens is a Canadian creator, director and cinematographer. While J’s work has spanned many genres, formats, and job descriptions what has remained consistent is the commitment to bringing dynamic, personal, boundary-pushing, and visually captivating LGBTQ2S+ content to audiences. J directed two episodes of Tubi’s flagship original comedy series, The Z-Suite. Previously, J directed Peabody Winner Sort Of (HBOMax/CBC) and Astrid and Lilly Save the World (NBC SYFY). J is the co-creator, cinematographer and director of the high-energy mockumentary series, Slo Pitch which ran two seasons for IFC and is in development as a prime-time comedy.
Really Happy Someday was made with the support of Telefilm Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts.
BFI Flare + Q&A
March 23rd at 20:50pm
BFI Southbank, NFT 2
Tickets on sale here
