![Pisko the Crab Child is in Love Pisko the Crab Child is in Love film image](https://images.viff.org/uploads/2023/08/PiskoTheCrab_still-4_X.jpg?resize=600%2C337&gravity)
North American Premiere
A young woman whose father was a crab takes us on a whirlwind tour of her struggle to find love and acceptance. Wildly original, this is a story of finding the confidence to overcome one’s self-doubts, say fuck you to the world and of being loved for who you are. The film is wonderfully unconventional, from the underlying punk sensibility to the way the characters all address the camera directly telling the story, filling in background bits and personal asides. The premise is decidedly absurd, yet the script uses tongue-in-cheek humor and natural-sounding dialogue to maintain believability and stakes. The cast’s performances are intoxicating, as each actor punctuates the absurdity with a contrastingly deadpan stare and casual tone to their voice. High energy from start to finish this is an incredibly hyper-stylized offbeat and ultimately queer romance for the ages. However, please nobody tell ’Peace-ko’ that the double peace sign she does that looks like crab pincers whenever she has her picture taken has already been patented by Richard Nixon of all people. That bastard!
Community Partner
Kano (A Masso), Saaya (Lalande), Maki Fukuda, Kanta Sato
Japan
2023
In Japanese with English subtitles
Indigenous & Community Access
Credits
Executive Producer
Shotaro Watanabe, Daiya Goriki, Takuya Nagase, Masaki Takahashi
Producer
Yasuo Suzuki
Screenwriter
Makoto Nagahisa
Cinematography
Hiroaki Takeda
Editor
Shunichi Sone
Production Design
Yukiko Kuribayashi
Director
![Makoto Nagahisa Makoto Nagahisa headshot](https://images.viff.org/uploads/2023/09/Makoto-Nagahisa.png?fit=50%2C40)
Makoto Nagahisa
Born in 1984 in Tokyo, Nagahisa became a film director after working in advertising. In 2017, he wrote and directed the short film And so we put goldfish in the pool, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival. His feature film, We Are Little Zombies was part of the official selection for Berlinale and other international film festivals. Other notable projects include a music video for Joy Division’s “Insight” and a 2022 Gucci commercial. Upcoming projects include directing a TV series produced by A24. Nagahisa has a thorough knowledge of the newest and most diverse techniques in video, starting with anime and CGI. His films are often praised as being “emosh”, while Nagahisa’s ability to depict the feelings of young people is one of his fortes.
Filmography: Death Days (2022); We Are Little Zombies (2019); And so we put goldfish in the pool (2017)