US-based distribution Japanese film streamer SAKKA will release Masaaki Kudo’s award-winning drama A Far Shore April 18th online worldwide (except for certain Asian territories).
Originally released in Japan in 2023, the film is a raw drama about a teenage mother struggling to survive poverty, Okinawa’s nightlife industry, and a desperately bad marriage.
This is the third film from Masaaki Kudo and it made him the winner of the Pia Film Festival’s Oshima Prize 2024, the Japanese Movie Critics Award’s Best Newcomer, and the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award. Check out the film below:
A Far Shore 
遠いところ 「Tooi Tokoro」
Duration: 128 mins.
Director: Masaaki Kudo
Writer: Masaaki Kudo, Mami Suzuki (Screenplay),
Starring: Kotone Hanase, Yumemi Ishida, Yoshiro Sakuma, Izumi Matsuoka, Ayano Ogura, NENE,
A Far Shore has more than earned its festival laurels having been selected for the competition section of the 56th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in July 2022 and winning the Audience Award at Tokyo FILMeX 2022 and, according to the SAKKA press release, it continues to be screened in Okinawa, which is no mean feat.
This opportunity to see the film online comes complete with an exclusive director’s commentary from Masaaki Kudo, a filmmaker originally from Kyoto Prefecture, who was inspired to go into film by the works of Nagisa Oshima.
Kudo is a graduate from the Visual Arts College Osaka and studied under directors such as Yoshimitsu Morita, Gakuryu Ishii, and Takashi Yamazaki. I’ve only seen one of his other films, a Covid-pandemic set drama and it was also good but A Far Shore is the one that has had legs and reached a larger and international audience.
Synopsis: Aoi is 17, works illegally at a cabaret club in Koza, Okinawa. She is already a mother to a young son and, when her faithless boyfriend Masaya quits his job, he circumstances deteriorate as he becomes both too demanding and violent. Aoi’s problems get worse when the police raid the club and shut it down. Masaya then disappears and Aoi is forced to live with her mother-in-law. Then she gets a call telling her that Masaya has been arrested for a violent incident.
Once again, the film will be available to stream on April 18th on SAKKA worldwide excluding certain Asian territories, and a director’s commentary will also be available.
I hope to review A Far Shote and interview director Kudo soon, so keep checking here and the SAKKA website and social media feeds for more!