Keiko Okawa

Seaside Serendipity

In a coastal town attracting artists, 14-year-old Sosuke and his friends stay busy painting and helping with school projects. As carefree children interact with secret-laden adults, the sunlit ocean reflects their contrasting struggles—kids embracing challenges while adults seek elusive answers.

Super Happy Forever

Accompanied by his friend Miyata, Sano returns to Izu, a seaside resort in Japan where five years before he fell in love with his wife Nagi.

There is a Stone

A young woman spends a day in some non-place between town and countryside, has random encounters and watches stones skip over the surface of the river. Tatsunari Ota’s film explores a world without productivity and finds joy in idle time and playfulness.

All the Long Nights

Two work colleagues: he suffers from panic attacks, she has extreme PMS. Their company distributes toy planetariums. What may not sound like Ozu Yasujirō is actually precisely that: people are attentive and do each other good, without even realising.

After the Fever

Sanae, who went to prison after failing to kill her ex-boyfriend six years ago, meets Kenta, a forest ranger, and gets married. Sanae and Kenta's married life takes a new turn when the wife of Sanae's ex-boyfriend appears. Sanae still can't forget her ex-boyfriend, and Kenta is having a hard time dealing with her.

Following the Sound

One day, Haru (25), who works as a bookstore clerk, reunites with Takeshi (45), whom she first met a few years prior, when she stopped him from jumping in front of a train. Takeshi offers Haru a job. Another day, Haru is worried about Yukiko (40) who is sitting on a bench in front of the station, and talks to her. This leads them on a small journey together. Haru takes along a cassette tape and recorder left behind by her mother Taeko, who died of illness when Haru was in primary school. Haru again faces regrets of not being able to help Taeko, which she had held for a long time.

People Who Talk to Plushies Are Kind

When sophomore university student Nanamori meets Mugito, they decide to join a club. Intrigued by the Plushies Club, they soon realize it is not a place where people make plushies, but rather one where members are welcome to talk to stuffed animals about their feelings, or anything they might not want to discuss with other people. An introvert’s paradise. A safe space. An escape from society’s pressures and rules. For Nananori, it’s a natural fit: the club allows him to explore his uneasiness about dating and society’s imposed gender roles. But soon, an overwhelmed Mugito disappears, and the more pragmatic club member Shiraki begins voicing opposition to the group’s insular methods. Real life encroaches.

Small, Slow But Steady

A hearing-impaired woman with dreams of becoming a professional boxer due to the pandemic is threatened closure of her boxing club and the illness of its ageing president, who has been her biggest supporter, push her to the limit.

Odoriko

Odoriko performances are intense, sometimes acrobatic choreographies, performed in sumptuous costumes—at least, until the costumes come off, because these dancers practice the Japanese form of striptease theater. The art was once popular, but is now seen only in a few clubs in the country. Filming on mini-DV tape, as if he is not actually in the room, director Yoichiro Okutani observes the unusual, traditional profession of the odoriko and the contrast with the modern, everyday questions the women struggle with.

Oasis

Mai, an artist, and Rintaro, a bicycle builder. The two weave through their city on bicycles. A river under an overpass, the ivy in a ditch, the demolition of state housing . . . . The film follows the couple as they move about, taking pictures of whatever catches their eye. Mai believes that even these small stories from everyday encounters constitute the culture of a city and the film documents Mai’s process of incorporating these stories into her work. The film was produced as part of the “Cultural Narrative of a City” project, which strives to present the city Minato in all its delicate yet vibrant cultural diversity.

Haruhara-san's Recorder

Sachi quits her job at a museum, starts working part-time at a café, and moves into an apartment recommended by a regular customer. Although she has started a new life, Sachi is still haunted by the memory of her partner whom she will never see again.

Fishmans

The words I promised to Kin-ichi Motegi, 'This is the first and last. I tell you everything about Fishmans without telling a lie.' The friends who made the sound of Fishmans devoted their lives to music. Shinji Sato's way of life is packed in this movie for nearly three hours.

Listen to Light

Shiori, Yukiko, Kyoko and Sachiko continue to live each day with untold feelings inside. Unable to forget a colleague on a trip, a father who is ill, a friend who works at a store that is about to close, and a long-lost husband, each woman takes a step forward. There is a light that sometimes embraces them, calmly and gently.

A Song I Remember

At a train station in the suburbs of Tokyo, an accident takes place causing death and injury. Tsuyoshi is at the scene and witnesses the death of a woman. Right before the accident occurred, Tsuyoshi took a photograph of the woman, who carried a gentle look. Later, Tsuyoshi learns the woman has a daughter named Kiriko. Tsuyoshi meets Kiriko.

A Song I Remember

At a train station in the suburbs of Tokyo, an accident takes place causing death and injury. Tsuyoshi is at the scene and witnesses the death of a woman. Right before the accident occurred, Tsuyoshi took a photograph of the woman, who carried a gentle look. Later, Tsuyoshi learns the woman has a daughter named Kiriko. Tsuyoshi meets Kiriko.

SEJI

Working for a textbook publisher, Seiji has lived in Tokyo since his mother moved them there after getting divorced during his childhood while his father remained in the countryside. To open up a new market in the Tohoku area, Seiji goes back to his hometown and meets his father for the first time in 30 years. They start living together with hard feelings and bitterness; however, an encounter with the neighborhood kids makes Seiji open his heart bit by bit, even to his old man. One day Seiji hears about the "Once around the Star Tour" at the elementary school where he is visiting on business. This brings the father and the son close together and draws them back to one memory...