Japanese Film Competition (Feature Length)
The Midnight Sun
- Onsite
- 7.16 (Tue) 16:50 Convention Hall
- 7.20 (Sat) 13:30 Audio Visual Hall
- Online
- 7.20 (Sat) 10:00 - 7.24 (Wed) 23:00
©村田組2023
Director: Hina MURATA
Cast : Sakiko HONDA, Saki TOYOYAMA, Ryushi MIZUKAMI, Syumpei HOSOI, Toshihiko TERADA, Hinata OSHIRO
2024 / Japan / 80min.
Fumi has decided to move out and live on her own, but she worries about leaving behind her interfering father and older brother Mucchan, who has hidden away in his room for ten years. One day, she wanders into a strange town where the sun never sets, and happens to run into Mucchan there. Fumi’s father still meddles excessively in her life, and her brother gradually becomes invisible. Fumi’s vision juxtaposes her suffocating everyday life and summer days spent with her brother filled with laughter. Director Hina Murata’s first feature film, The Midnight Sun freely switches between screen sizes to delicately portray Fumi’s world. The effective use of embroidery as a prop, together with refreshing performances from Sakiko Honda as Fumi and Saki Toyoyama as Mucchan, bring a sense of reality to this wondrous world. The Midnight Sun will have its world premiere at the festival.
Director: Hina MURATA
Born in 2002, Osaka Prefecture. Graduated from the Film Department at Kyoto University of the Arts. Murata’s first film, Water and Fish (21), which she made during her first two years at university, was selected for Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2022’s Japan category. The film was shown online and at a special venue in Tokyo (Omotesando Hills Space O) in June 2022. She also participated in the filming of Ajinori (23, directed by Hinata Naoi), which won the student competition at Oishii Film Festival 2023, as well as the Excellence Award, Corporate Award, and Audience Award—screening at Midland Square in Nagoya.
Message
Nine friends and I lovingly created this film as our university graduation project, making sure to pay close attention to its tactile qualities. It is an honor to participate in this festival that I’ve admired for some time, and I’m so happy to be able to meet everyone here. I hope you will remember “The Midnight Sun” from time to time.
