SYNOPSIS
On the subtropical Japanese island of Amami, traditions about nature remain eternal. Following a typhoon and during the full-moon night of traditional dances in August, 16-year-old Kaito (Nijirô Murakami) discovers a dead body floating in the sea. His girlfriend, Kyoko (Junko Abe), will attempt to help him understand this mysterious discovery. Together, Kaito and Kyoko will learn to become adults by experiencing the interwoven cycles of life, death and love.
Kawase, one of Japan's most celebrated contemporary directors and the youngest filmmaker to be awarded the Cannes Camera d'Or for her debut film “Suzaku” in 1987, was nominated for a Palme d'Or for STILL THE WATER; the film also captured awards for Best Director and Best Cinematography at the 2015 RiverRun International Film Festival.
DIRECTOR'S BIO: NAOMI KAWASE
Born and raised in Nara, Kawase graduated from Visual Arts Osaka in 1989. Her films, “Embracing” (1992) and “Katatsumori” (1994) received international recognitions and awards at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival in 1995. With her first feature, “Suzaku” (1997), she became the youngest filmmaker to receive the Camera d'Or at the Festival de Cannes with her. At the Fesitival de Cannes, she has also won the Grand Prix with “The Mourning Forest / Mogari No Mori” (2007), the Carrosse d'Or in 2009, and also served as one of the jurors for the competition in 2013. In 2015, KAWASE was bestowed with the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Minister of Culture. In 2017,“Hikari / Radiance” was selected as one of the competition films and given Ecumenical Jury awards. She was appointed the direct Official Film of the Olympics Game Tokyo 2020, and aside from being a filmmaker, she is the founder and Executive Director for the Nara International Film Festival.
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