Over the past month, a number of indie films have been played at Theatre Shinjuku. I have placed them in various trailer posts and have now rounded them up into this one because they all look interesting and will hopefully turn up at other festivals. They are part of the Tanabe Benkei Film Festival 2019 screenings where notable titles have been selected for more screenings and there are two films left for screening and they are the first two in this post:
Banzai! Here is Lover Road
万歳！ここは愛の道 「Banzai! Koko wa ai no michi」
Release Date: June 28th, 2019
Duration: 103 mins.
Director: Tatsuya Ishii
Writer: N/A
Starring: Mei Fukuda, Hiroto Oshita, Ryouka Neya, Keitoku Itou,
This one looks like a dark doc about an intense love felt by someone. Maybe we all desire something like that but when we experience it it can be choking. You can follow the film’s director on Twitter here.
Synopsis: Tatsuya Ishii won the JFF Special Award at the Pia Film Festival Award 2018 for Subarashiki Sekai. Here, he chases the concept of true love through the self-documentary format as he revisits time spent with an old lover. They had been dating for two years and she was in a mental ward of a hospital after the breakdown of the relationship. Ishii recorded their relationship while together until it got too bad. Then, one day, after a call from her, he visited her house with a camera in hand and talked to her to find out she had lost two years of her memory.
What A Wonderful World 
すばらしき世界 「Subarashiki Sekai」
Release Date: July 15th, 2019
Duration: 41 mins.
Director: Tatsuya Ishii
Writer: Tatsuya Ishii (Screenplay),
Starring: Haruya Dan, Supika Yufune, Keitoku Ito, Nene Kaneko,
Tatsuya Ishii made this film as his graduate work from Toho Gakuen Film College.
Synopsis: A 16-year-old boy named Yu (Haruya Dan) lives with his mother but when his father remarries and demands Yu live with him, the boy faces heartbreak and responds with anger over the selfishness of his parents.
Chontycha – at the end of summer 
チョンティチャ 「Chonticha」
Release Date: June 29th, 2019
Duration: 40 mins.
Director: Mei Fukuda
Writer: Mei Fukuda (Screenplay)
Starring: Rin Nagatsuki, Tomohito Akiba, Noriko Arai, Tatsuki Yufu, Yuuichi Nomoto, Kazunori Akase, Kenta Ito,
Synopsis: Chonthicha is the daughter of a Burmese mother and a Thai father and was raised in Japan. Following her parent’s divorce, she lives with her mother and her new partner, Takahashi. She has been trying to lead a quiet life but things get complicated when she reaches her 16th birthday…
Woman Woman Woman 
ウーマンウーマンウーマン 「Uman Uman Uman」
Release Date: July 09th, 2019
Duration: 68 mins.
Director: Keisuke Kondo
Writer: Keisuke Kondo (Screenplay),
Starring: Nori Sato, Nene Ito, Titi Hasegawa, Shiotomo Mizui, Shun Yamamoto, Yuugo Migawa,
Synopsis: An adventurous woman who travels the world while pulling a cart meets a female college student who believes in all things cute and fighting for justice. Meanwhile, four men in a baseball club go on a hot spring trip…
Karappo tokubetsu zoho-ban 
からっぽ 特別増補版 「Karappo tokubetsu zoho-ban」
Release Date: July 13th, 2019
Duration: 30 mins.
Director: Nao Nomura
Writer: Nao Nomura (Screenplay),
Starring: Riko Uchikoshi, Tsuaki Kawachika, Akira Suda, Tomoki Kimura, Nana Sakurai, Akane Hirashima, Kentaro Taura
This is a special edition of a film released last year. It comes with an additional scene and re-editing. Selected films from the Tanabe Benkei Film Festival Selection 2019 are being shown in different cities (June 19-, Tokyo Theatre Shinjuku / July-Osaka Cine Libre Umeda).
Synopsis: Nao Nomura makes his feature film debut with this, a graduation work from Musashino Art University and it won the Entertainment Award at the Pia Film Festival Award 2018. A young lady who works numerous part-time jobs to make ends meet falls in with a painter who wants to use her as his muse. She agrees but she feels uncomfortable and begins to get cold feet which is when she meets writer who also wants to use her as a muse. House-hopping and being looked after can’t hide the emptiness she has inside…
Fukansho ni natte iku korekara no bokura ni tsuite 
不感症になっていくこれからの僕らについて 「Fukansho ni natte iku korekara no bokura ni tsuite」
Release Date: July 05th, 2019
Duration: 30 mins.
Director: Makoto Shimada
Writer: Makoto Shimada (Screenplay), Nobuhiro Mori (Original Stageplay)
Starring: Dai Ikeda, Satsuki, Marika Fukunaga, Gaku Hosokawa,
Makoto Shinada
Synopsis: The story follows a guy named Ken who is struggling with his dream of being a musician in Tokyo. He has lost all songwriting inspiration. He returns to his hometown where he meets his childhood friends Haruka and Taro…