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Miwa: A Japanese Icon
Miwa: A Japanese Icon
7.2
/10
271 Ratings

MIWA: A JAPANESE ICON

Miwa, à la recherche du lézard noir

Directed by Pascal-Alex Vincent
France, Japan, 2010
Documentary, LGBTQ+

Synopsis

The glamorous heroine of the 1968 film Black Lizard was played by a man, Akihiro Miwa. This film looks back at the unique destiny of a man who has spent 50 years defying questions of gender, all the while remaining a popular celebrity in Japan, thanks to his films, songs and television programmes.

Synopsis

The glamorous heroine of the 1968 film Black Lizard was played by a man, Akihiro Miwa. This film looks back at the unique destiny of a man who has spent 50 years defying questions of gender, all the while remaining a popular celebrity in Japan, thanks to his films, songs and television programmes.

Our take

Akihiro Miwa challenged the notions of gender and sexuality in 1960s Japan through his celebrated career as a singer, actor (especially in his role as a woman in Black Lizard), as well as an eloquent activist. This documentary portrait reveals the life of this fascinating figure—popular yet daring.