North American Premiere
Keiko Tsuruoka’s film is at once traditional and contemporary: it gently mixes present-day gender and sexuality politics with the old-fashioned Japanese domestic drama. Traditional lacquerwork kitchenware is the Aoki family’s legacy, handed down to patriarch Seishiro (Kaoru Kobayashi) by his now-ailing father (Masayuki Suzuki). Seishiro expects to pass it in turn to his son Yu (Ryota Bando), but Yu has no interest in the craft—quite unlike daughter Miyako (Mayu Hotta), who loves it dearly. The stage is set for conflict, as established cultural traditions collide with modern mores…
Tsugaru Lacquer Girl features fine performances from its ensemble cast. As the father, Kobayashi assumes a mask of stern stoicism that melts slowly but surely; another player of note is Toshiya Miyata as Yu’s kindly boyfriend. Hotta, however, is the centre of the film, and her performance as the heroine is at once gentle and luminous. Like the artisans that are his subject, Tsuruoka has crafted a modest but beautiful work; sit back, relax, and let it warm your heart.
October 4 & 6: Q&A with director Keiko Tsuruoka
Supported by
Media Partner
Mayu Hotta, Ryota Bando, Toshiya Miyata, Reiko Kataoka, Kaoru Kobayashi
Japan
2023
Panorama
In Japanese with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Producer
Natsuko Mori, Hitoshi Endo, Tatsuya Matsuoka, Koichiro Fukuoka
Screenwriter
Keiko Tsuruoka, Kensaku Kojima
Cinematography
Wataru Takahashi
Editor
Shinichi Fushima
Production Design
Hinako Kasuga
Original Music
Hiroki Nakano
Director
Keiko Tsuruoka
Born in Nagano Prefecture in 1988, Keiko Tsuruoka began making movies while attending Rikkyo University. Her graduation work, Town of Whales (2012), won the Grand Prize at the 2012 PIA Film Festival and was shown at the Berlin IFF, the Busan IFF and many other film festivals around the world. She directed her second film My First Love (2013), which was presented at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Filmography: Town of Whales (2012); My First Love (2013); Lingering Memories (2015); Utsuroi no hyohonbako (2016); Makuko (2019)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Amrum
Twelve-year-old Nanning (Jasper Billerbeck) sets himself a mission to secure bread and honey for his mother to snap her out of her depression. It is 1945. The war is all but lost, and such luxuries are not easy to find on the remote island of Amrum...
Street Hassle: Songs by Lou Reed
Guitarist Aram Bajakian takes on the Lou Reed song catalogue in this second concert of the weekend. A ticket to this show includes free admission to Faraway, So Close at 3:30 pm.
How Deep Is Your Love
Filmmaker Eleanor Mortimer tags along with a team of oceanographers and marine biologists as they survey the Clarion-Clipperton fracture, one of the most remote spots on Earth, home to a dazzling array of unknown creatures.
