Manami Usamaru

"16" and 10 years. Far away.

On the way to the seaside

An experimental art film shot in Tokyo, Japan, ‘Mu’ combines black and white footage with a bespoke poem written by poet Shuya Masuda (inspired in part by the poem ‘Nu’ written by Ryuichi Tamura, ‘Mu’ literally meaning nothing, zero, void) alongside visuals inspired by photographer Daido Moriyama and a textured performance interlude by Japanese rapper Jin Dogg. In its sum, this film creates the physical manifestation of the imagined characters director Taichi Kimura has written in his previous film ‘Lost Youth’ and in his feature currently in development, ‘Neon’.

Three factory workers in the countryside lead ordinary lives, marked by the melancholy of everyday life and by small, meaningful gestures. A slice-of-life film about the beauty and sadness in the most inconspicuous moments.

Three men and women live peacefully in a small town in winter, each day somewhat lacking. Shinichi, who works at a recycle store, just lives every day that comes his way and nothing else. He is a man who is selfless about himself and his future.

Heartbroken Kyoko (Usamaru Manami) meets and marries Kadono (Hosoda Yoshihiko) on a matching app. Kyoko is happy with her life with the kind and handsome Kadono, but she gradually begins to suspect that her husband is in love with another woman. She asks detective Nomura (Shibue Jouji) to investigate her husband's background, and a shocking secret is revealed.

Sisterhood portrays a current reality in Japan, showing the vision and lives of different people, such as a nude model, a music artist, a student and other diverse individuals who give their opinions in front of the camera.

Young artist Kyoko wreaks havoc on everyone that she encounters when Japan's oldest major movie studio asks a batch of venerable filmmakers to revive its high-brow soft-core Roman Porno series.

The two are friends. The two are parents and children. The two are lovers. Being together softens my heart. I'm glad to be with you. And lonely. The loneliness that I only feel when I'm with you.

Tourists, foreigners and outcasts converge on the streets of Osaka in this sprawling ensemble drama by Japan-based, Malaysia-born filmmaker Lim Kah Wai. His eighth feature explores the lesser-known aspects of the Asian melting pot city through the eyes and experiences of a dozen characters who struggle to find their place in society: among them a Nepali refugee with dreams of opening a restaurant, a Burmese student struggling to make ends meet while working two jobs, and a Taiwanese sex tourist who travels to meet his favorite adult video actress.