Happy Weekend
I hope that you are well.
This week was a short work one but I am tired enough for brain fog to have descended. I put out a review of Aloners and a preview of the Japanese and Korean films at Cannes Film Festival 2022. I also put out the first part of this weekend’s trailer post!
What else was released this weekend?
My Identity 
神様のいるところ 「Kamisama no Iru Tokoro」
Release Date: May 07th, 2022
Duration: 63 mins.
Director: Sae Suzuki
Writer: Sae Suzuki
Starring: Hinata Arakawa, Kaho Seto, Chihiro Okamoto, Asami Takeda, Takuji Kobayashi,
Sae Suzuki made this while at Geidai.
Synopsis: Rei is a Taiwanese-Japanese girl in her mid-teens and also a runaway from a miserable home life. While on the streets she meets Aoi, an office worker who is undergoing her own ordeal with an amorous male colleague. Rei ends up staying overnight in Aoi’s apartment but, the very next evening, the two run away from the city after a traumatic event happens. They head to a deserted rural village and hide away in an abandoned inn where they create a utopian space of female camaraderie which lasts for a little while…
MIRRORLIAR FILMS Season3 
Release Date: May 06th, 2022
Duration: 131 mins.
Director: Aya Igashi, Ken Shinozaki, Hiroki Nozaki, Takayuki Hayashi, Daigo Matsui, Tetsuji Muraoka, Takayuki Yamada, Toshio Lee, Daichi Watanabe.
Writer: Rin Shuto, Ken Shinozaki, Hiroki Nozaki, Rei Tsuruga, Takayuki Hayashi, Daigo Matsui, Tetsuji Muraoka, Takayuki Yamada, Kazuhisa Kodera, Kazunori Machida, Daichi Watanabe, (Script),
Starring: Nao, Mio Yuuki, Haru Asada, Beat Kiyoshi, Kaito Yoshimura, Makita Sports, Misato Shimizu, Sara Minami, Tetsuji Muraoka,
Synopsis: This is the third instalment of the MIRRORLIAR FILMS, a short film initiative set up by actors Takayuki Yamada, Shinnosuke Abe, and film producer Chikara Ito. Stories include one about love in a sauna, a single mother’s struggle with her autistic son, one about an elementary school student who lives with a sense of alienation, and one about a man who commits fraud and his girlfriend who suspects he is cheating on her.
Bachiramen 
ばちらぬん 「Bachiramen」
Release Date: May 07th, 2022
Duration: 61 mins.
Director: Aika Higashimori
Writer: Aika Higashimori (Script),
Starring: Aika Higashimori, Kenta Ishida, Nanami Sasaki, Sakura Yamamoto,
Aika Higashimori is a new directing talent from Okinawa Prefecture and she used the culture of her home island of Yonaguni in this, her directorial debut which won the Grand Prix at the 43rd Pia Film Festival PFF Awards in 2021 and was later screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Synopsis: Documentary footage of daily life and festivals on Yonaguni Island is mixed with drama to catch life, history, culture, and people on the remote island.
Mappa da ka 
まっぱだか 「Mappa da ka」
Release Date: May 07th, 2022
Duration: 99 mins.
Director: Ryo Anraku, Kyo Katayama
Writer: Ryo Anraku, Kyo Katayama (Script),
Starring: Kazunari Yanagitani, Haruka Tsuda, Ryo Anraku, Kyo Katayama, Daisuke Takazaki, Mizuho Oosu,
Synopsis: Ryo Anraku and Kyo Katayama were hired by Motomachi Movie Theater in Kobe to make a film in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the place. The film was shot entirely on location in Motomachi, Kobe and depicts the romantic comedy of Shun, a man who has his head in the clouds, and Natsuko, a woman who is at the mercy of others’ demands rather than living her own life.
67-Sai no Fuukei Wakamatsu Koji wa nani o mita no ka 
67歳の風景 若松孝二は何を見たのか 「67-Sai no Fuukei Wakamatsu Koji wa nani o mita no ka」
Release Date: May 07th, 2022
Duration: 91 mins.
Director: Kayo Takefuji
Writer: N/A
Starring: Koji Wakamatsu, Kazuya Shiraishi, Tasuku Emoto,
Synopsis: Inspired by the story of a 17-year-old boy who murdered his mother by a in Okayama Prefecture in 2000 and was caught cycling in the north of the country, Koji Wakamatsu made17-sai no Fukei: Shonen wa nani o mita no ka (trailer above). Kayo Takefuji recorded the filming on location in Tohoku and Koji Wakamatsu and his team filming.