These are our six recommended short films from the Nippon Connection Japanese Film Festival, which will take place from May 28 – June 2, 2024 in Frankfurt, Germany.

Detouring Blue by Ryô Kimura – Japan | 2023 – 24 minutes

Under the neon light of Tokyo at night, callgirl Shiori is chauffeured from assignation to assignation. Mid-ride, a fellow sex worker prompts her to remember her high school days, her dreams of being a playwright, and a best friend who encouraged her. Can she grab any of that again? (Mubi)

Trailer:

GMT+9 by Sugano Matsusaki, Jonas Beile – Germany | 2024 – 29 minutes

Saki and Maki, two Japanese women, moved from Japan to Berlin to escape societal pressure and start living together as a couple. However, tensions arise in the German capital. While Maki quickly finds her place in the multicultural scene, Saki tries to keep their relationship and relocation a secret. Through video calls with her mother and remote work, she pretends to be living in Tokyo. Their relationship is tested when Saki takes on a new job as a so-called “chat lady” on a Japanese website, entertaining a straight male audience. The two women’s rhythm of life diverges and their different social backgrounds become more and more apparent. As Maki finds support and acceptance from her family, Saki feels increasingly isolated, questioning her purpose to be in Germany. The ideals of openness and freedom are increasingly doubted. Berlin is not the desired haven, and the hoped-for freedom turns out to be an entry into a fierce economy of self-assertion.

Trailer:

Huyuko’s Summer by Shinichiro Kanagawa – Japan | 2023 – 20 minutes

Girls spend their time idly, end up in a field of sunflowers in full bloom, where they come to a crossroads. (ShortShorts 2023)

NEO PORTRAITS by GAZEBO – Japan | 2023 – 20 minutes

A story of rural Japan in the near future. “Cutting-edge technology” and “things that haven’t changed” coexist in this depopulated town. Takumi, an eighth-year junior high school student, felt it strange that the adults in his town treated the android made in his mother’s image as the real thing. However, only Hana, his homeroom teacher, was different from the other adults.

Trailer:

The Old Young Crow by Liam Lopinto – USA | 2022 – 12 minutes

Mehrdad recalls his experience in Tokyo befriending an old Japanese woman, Chiyo, at a graveyard in Tokyo through his old sketchbook. He investigates her sudden disappearance the following day.

Trailer:

Tsukumo-San by Yohei Shikano – Japan | 2022 – 14 minutes

Anna and her lover Ryuji are happy on a Sunday morning. Then, out of the blue, Tsukumo, a second-hand book buyer, comes to the house to assess books on Rakugo (a form of comedic storytelling performance). Anna, who had forgotten that her husband Toshiro had requested it, has no choice but to invite Tsukumo in, leaving Ryuji as she goes to buy something to drink. While Tsukumo, a Rakugo fanatic, is delighted by the precious material on the bookshelves, Toshiro returns home earlier than planned. At that moment, Ryuji tries to pass himself off as Tsukumo and pretend to be a trader, just like in a Rakugo story…

For more information, please visit: https://nipponconnection.com/en/start/