Fusako Urabe

元風俗嬢の主人公・ちひろが、とある海辺の町の小さなお弁当屋さんで働きながら、心に傷や悩みを抱えて上手く生きることができない人々と交流し、彼女の言葉や行動がそれぞれの人々の生き方に影響を与えていく物語。

A socially-distanced college reunion, an unusual rapport struck between a food delivery man and a patron, a bus-stop encounter, and a blind woman scammed into thinking her brother is sick constitute the stories of Mayu Nakamura’s COVID-era quadriptych—a work that encapsulates the newfound anxieties of loneliness, insecurity and the struggle for connection within the depths of the pandemic lockdown. Tied together by the remarkable performances of actress Nahana, who embodies the various female characters across the film’s differing narratives, Nakamura’s episodic feature delves into the lives of women in COVID-era Japan, finding profundity and human connection amid the unlikely encounters of strangers.

大学で哲学を教える小鳥遊雄司（たかなしゆうじ）は、泳げない。水に顔をつけることも怖い。屁理屈ばかりをこねて、人生のほとんどで水を避けてきた雄司はある日、ひょんなことから水泳教室に足を運ぶ。訪れたプールの受付で、強引に入会を勧めて来たのが水泳コーチの薄原静香（うすはらしずか）だった。静香が教える賑やかな主婦たちの中に、体をこわばらせた雄司がぎこちなく混ざる。その日から、陸よりも水中の方が生きやすいという静香と、水への恐怖で大騒ぎしながらそれでも続ける雄司の、一進一退の日々が始まる。泳ぎを覚えていく中で雄司は、元妻の美弥子との過去や、シングルマザーの恋人・奈美恵との未来など、目をそらし続けて来た現実とも向き合うことになる。それは、ある決定的な理由で水をおそれることになった雄司の、苦しい再生への第一歩だったーー。

ヘアメイクアーティストである親友のつぐみ(玄理)から好きな男がいると聞かされた、モデルの芽衣子(古川琴音)。だが、その男が元恋人の和明(中島歩)だと知る(第1話『魔法(よりもっと不確か)』)。芥川賞を受賞した大学教授・瀬川(渋川清彦)に落第させられた大学生・佐々木(甲斐翔真)は、復讐(ふくしゅう)を企てる(第2話『扉は開けたままで』)。高校時代の友人である夏子(占部房子)とあや(河井青葉)が、20年ぶりに仙台で再会。当時のことで盛り上がるが、徐々にすれ違っていく(第3話『もう一度』)。

Three people from a former theater club get back in touch for the first time in 20 years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each of them have led completely different lives, but an absent woman continues to cast a shadow over them. This story takes place over one night, and explores the themes of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and connections between people.

In the time after Naomi’s parents suddenly die, she happens to meet and bond with the popular actor Morinori Tokito who lives in the same apartment building.

　東日本大震災の後、亡くなった大切な人に声を届けようと多くの人が訪れている岩手県大槌町に実在する電話ボックス“風の電話”をモチーフに描くヒューマン・ドラマ。津波で家族を亡くし、広島の叔母に引き取られた少女が、ある出来事をきっかけに故郷の大槌町を目指し、その道中で様々な出会いを重ねて成長していく再生の旅路を描く。主演は「少女邂逅」「おいしい家族」のモトーラ世理奈。共演に西島秀俊、西田敏行、 三浦友和。監督は「ユキとニナ」「ライオンは今夜死ぬ」の諏訪敦彦。 　８年前の東日本大震災で家族を失い、いまは広島に住む伯母の家に身を寄せている高校生のハル。心に深い傷を抱えながらも、叔母に支えられ日常生活を送ってきた。ところがその叔母が倒れて入院してしまい、不安と悲しみから道端で気を失ってしまう。偶然通りかかった男性に助けられた彼女は、一人で故郷の大槌町へ向かうことを決意するのだったが…。

The semi-autobiographical story of a underground comedian in Tokyo, with a cast that features acts performing in the underground circuit today.

麦(東出昌大)と朝子(唐田えりか)は恋に落ちるが、麦は彼女の前から突然居なくなってしまう。それから2年がたち、彼女は麦との思い出が残る大阪を離れて東京で暮らし始める。ある日、麦と外見はそっくりだが性格の違う亮平(東出昌大)と出会う。麦のことを忘れられないがゆえに彼を避けていたが、一方の亮平はそんな彼女に強く惹かれる。亮平と接するうちに彼に惹(ひ)かれていく朝子だったが......。

Suffering from heartbreak and asthma, 23-year-old Toshiyuki pushes the limits of his body to chase the ghost of his recently deceased boyfriend against the black-blue backdrop of Tokyo’s cityscape. -JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film

親友の死体を目撃したという転校生の話を聞いて以来、由紀（本田翼）は人が死ぬ瞬間を見たいと思うようになる。高校2年生の夏休みに小児科病棟でボランティアを始めた彼女は、余命わずかな少年たちに近付き自らの願望をかなえようとする。一方、由紀の親友でかつていじめを受けた敦子（山本美月）は、人が亡くなる瞬間を見れば生きる気力を取り戻せると考え、老人ホームでボランティアを始めるが……。

A small yet moving dance film that follows Machi—who cannot speak nor hear—her best friend, and a wanted man with whom Machi falls in love with.

An old couple, their only son, the son's wife, a young man and his lover live peacefully in a village. Then, a terrifying earthquake strikes that causes a nearby nuclear station to explode. The residents must evacuate, but the family lives on a farm, with only half of the area designated as an evacuation area.

A nostalgic human drama based on Dazai Osamu Prize winner Tsujiuchi Tomoki's novella. Set in a declining coal-mining town in 1950s Fukuoka, the story depicts a rambunctious but pure-hearted young boy in love with an older woman. Director Hirayama Hideyuki and writer Chong Wishing, both from Begging for Love (Ai o kou hito), join hands again to make this film. Michiyo (Koyuki) has left Tokyo for Fukuoka with her son Mamoru (Ikematsu Sosuke) after divorcing her husband. The story follows Mamoru's memories of his time spent with the notorious rebel Shinichi (Ishida Takuya), who stood up for him against bullies.

A young man moves from the countryside to Tokyo, while experiencing hardships and happiness, in his pursuit to become a comics artist.

Here is a couple who have their wedding close at hand. In the middle of the celebration party where their friends get together, it is accidentally exposed that the prospective groom had an affair in the past.

The movie revolves around Mitsuba, who studies traditional art of rakugo. Rakugo is a form of comical story telling, sometimes referred to as sit-down comedy. Even though Mitsuba is mediocre at best, he ends up teaching three students.

A group of high school girls learn to play the game of curling.

Yuko is a Japanese girl who was taken hostage in Iraq while volunteering there as an aid worker. Finally released and back in her hometown, Yuko finds herself ostracized as a national disgrace by society that sees her helping a country other than Japan, and the embarrassment of getting captured but not killed, as things of which to be brutally ashamed.

Kazuo Murata is a detective who has lost his wife and eventually the meaning of his existence.

Yuichiro is a college student whose sister went missing 15 years ago. That traumatic event hangs over him like a pall as he wanders Japan's S&M clubs. But his younger brother claims to be able to sense their sister with his "antenna".

Mashike, a city on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Nobuo Honma is a 63-year-old sake producer. He has lived with Yasuo since his wife died two years ago. Yasuo is his youngest son to whom he has entrusted his trade. Every day Nobuo goes for a walk which leads him to a fish-breeding center, located in the mountains. He fills his loneliness by attentively observing the development of thousands of little fish poured into the pool. The second anniversary of his wife's death approaches. Nobuo insists on the presence of Ryoichi, his elder son whom he hasn't seen for a long time. Nobuo and his two sons, along with their partners, gather for the commemoration. Unspoken feelings resurface and clash with each other.

Meet NIPPORI Ayumu, an 80 year-old man, who, due to a serious heart condition, has spent sixty years of his life confined to his house. One morning, he wakes up believing himself to be twenty again. In his mind, he has become the youthful young man that he once was. However, reality fails to keep up with his illusion, and everything around him seems to be quite different from what he is used to. So, he decides that he is simply dreaming. As his reality becomes his dream, his unhappy world turns into a life enriched with happiness and expectations for the future. Ayumu is now enjoying his life to the full again.