Junior high school student Yuki, a member of a traveling theater troupe, changes schools to match his performance schedule. On his first day at a new school, he declares that because he’s serious about his art, he doesn’t want friends, but when he meets Ken, who is not attending school, his determination begins to falter....

©2023 Saitama Prefecture/SKIP CITY Sai-no-Kuni Visual Plaza, Kawaguchi City

Director: Naoya FUJITA
Cast: Shion MATSUFUJI, Jun SAITO, Sara HAYAMA, Hirona MURATA, Hanamaru ICHIKAWA, Toru KIZU, Soran TAMOTO / Hinako SAEKI / Reiko TAKASHIMA

2023 / Japan / 80min.

 

A junior high school student living in the world of theater is changed through various encounters and partings at the school he attends temporarily in this coming-of-age drama directed by Naoya Fujita, whose Stay (19) won Best Picture of the 2020 Japanese Film Competition short film category. Subsequently, he directed LONG-TERM COFFEE BREAK (22) for ndjc, The Agency for Cultural Affairs’ project to nurture young filmmakers, and studied in NY as a member of the Agency’s Japan Film Overseas Expansion Enhancement Project. With a heightened profile, he returns to SKIP CITY. With the cooperation of the Japan Culture and Taishu Engeki Association, he made this film in a style which differs from his previous works, but continuing with his regular collaborators from his university days, including writer Suzuyuki Kaneko and producer Yujiro Imae. The star is Shion Matsufuji, with Jun Saito and Sara Hayama playing his friends. Reiko Takashima, Hinako Saeki and other veteran actors give fine performances as adults struggling alongside their children. This film was produced to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the festival and the 90th anniversary of Kawaguchi City, and will have its world premiere at the festival.