Trans pilot Adam Harry debuts in Sunny Wayne's Binary Error

A few days ago, a short film titled Binary Error debuted on the Nerambokku channel, started by filmmaker Midhun Manuel Thomas. The film, which marks the directorial debut of former entertainment journalist Anjana George, stars actor Sunny Wayne and trans pilot Adam Harry. Binary Error explores the concept of gender inclusivity on screen and behind the camera, thereby shining a light on the struggles of the members of the transgender community and rainbow mothers. It also speaks to cisgender individuals who are unaware of the other genders existing in the world.

Sunny Wayne plays sub inspector Sunny Thomas, an aspiring filmmaker residing in Cherthala. His inquisitive nature and interest in unravelling the hidden mysteries open a whole new world in front of him. "I play a cisgender character, also named Sunny. The film mirrors each one of us and the injustice we did to the genders beyond that. Binary Error is an empathetic film which would make us think from the perspective of heterosexual individuals, transgender people, and rainbow mothers. I thoroughly enjoyed working in it," says Sunny.

The film, dedicated to people belonging to gender minorities who have lost their lives fighting against systemic gender norms, features Adam Harry as a trans man struggling to find a space in his family. "Movies like Binary Error can create a big impact in a society that does not give much visibility to trans men. When I listened to the script, I felt there was a need to have more such gender-sensible films. I not only enacted Anirudh but also wrote dialogues for my character to make sure we got the perspective right, which is very rare in the industry. I enjoyed the entire process of making the movie with a highly receptive team. It was more of an awareness process for many, including the crew, which was something really beautiful. Hope it's the same for the society," says Adam.

Director Anjana, who specialises in gender and cinema, explains that applying the discourses on gender inclusivity and sensibility in cinema that she witnessed in Malayalam cinema since the actress assault and Kasaba incident has been a very interesting experience. "While we argue that bringing political correctness, queerness and being empathetic to mental health struggles are a hindrance to creative freedom, I felt it is important to have a practical experience. Thanks to Midhun Manuel Thomas and Sunny Wayne, who trusted my concepts and gave me the freedom to do a film that I wanted in every way. It is a team effort, where we had Adam writing dialogues for his character. I assure you that people who walked into this project with deep-rooted transphobia have gained a new understanding of gender," she says, adding that cinema is a popular culture to be used responsibly.

Binary Error also features Abraham Edayadi, Rossamma, Geetha Varma, Adam Harry, Charu Chinnamani, Suphy Maria, Merin J Komban, Deepa Kelat, Ratheesh V S, Ranadheer K S, and Ashraf playing integral roles. Sunil Sankar and Anjana George penned the story and screenplay.

The film, produced under the banner Nerambokku, an initiative by Midhun Manuel Thomas to support budding filmmakers, was edited by state award winner Lijo Paul and shot by Ashwin Nandakumar. Three-time state award winner Liju Prabhakar handled the colouring, while Prakash Alex wrote the background score. The sound design is by Arun Rama Varma.