Homebody

A child’s relationship with his babysitter is always very special, but not as special as in the case of Johnny – 9 years old, very sensitive, gender non-binary – who obsessively adores his babysitter Melanie. After discovering a video on YouTube that teaches the “free-spirit meditation”, i.e., the possibility of extracting the spirit from the physical body, Johnny decides to transfer his spirit into Melanie’s body. Doing so, he can see through her eyes, talk about her through her mouth and move with her body. It’s a dream come true: Johnny turned into Melanie gets to be a woman for a day! But gradually the pressures of pretending to be someone else build up, particularly when Mom comes home earlier than expected. Johnny must then navigate the dangers of the outside world as a grown woman: managing clothes and makeup, potential horny hookups, and even attending a birth as a doula. In this charming fantasy film, director Joseph Sackett brilliantly explores gender expression through a fresh and unpredictable lens in this hilarious and heartwarming feature debut.