North American Premiere
O Mipo’s stirring, elliptical family drama traces 28 years in the life of Igarashi Dai (Yoshizawa Ryo), a “Child of Deaf Adults” from rural Japan. Blaming his mother (Oshidari Akiko) for his social differences, he leaves his family for Tokyo as a young man, eventually landing a job as a magazine writer. The new friends he makes through a sign language group open his eyes to a diversity of deaf experiences, helping him see his mother in a poignant new light.
Based on a true story, this latest film by O Mipo (director of Japan’s 2015 Oscar submission for Best Foreign-Language Film, The Light Shines Only There) features a beautiful performance from Deaf actors Oshidari Akiko and Imai Akito as Dai’s parents, as well as impressive range from lead actor Yoshizawa Ryo (Kingdom). With handheld camerawork and an evocative contrast between sound and silence, the film makes powerful use of flashbacks that tug at the heartstrings, unfolding a nuanced and emotional depiction of Dai’s experience of Living in Two Worlds.
Supported by
Media Partner
Ryo Yoshizawa, Akiko Oshidari, Akito Imai, Yusuke Santamaria
Japan
2024
In Japanese with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Producer
Hideyuki Yamakuni
Screenwriter
Takehiko Minato
Cinematography
Hajime Tanaka
Editor
Hanako Tabata
Production Design
Shimpei Inoue
Original Music
Takuto Tanaka
Mipo O
Born in 1977. Mipo O began her career as a script supervisor. Her short film Grandmother (2003) won the grand prize in the Digital Shorts category of the Tokyo International Fantastic Film Festival. Her feature directorial debut, The Sakais’ Happiness (2006), won the Sundance Institute/NHK International Filmmakers Award. The Light Shines Only There (2014) won the Best Director Award in the World Competition section at the Montreal World Film Festival and was selected as Japan’s representative for the Best International Feature Film at the Oscars. Being Good (2015) won the NETPAC Award (Best Asian Film) at the Moscow International Film Festival.
Filmography: The Sakais’ Happiness (2006); Okan no yomeiri (2010); Quirky Guys and Gals (2011); The Light Shines Only There (2014); Being Good (2015)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Turner & Constable
Filmed as a supplement to a blockbuster exhibition at Tate Britain happening right now, this doc in the popular Exhibition on Screen series allows us to view these competitive, complementary English landscape artists side by side.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
One of only a handful of live action children's films to capture the imaginations of generations, E.T. has a luminous warmth; it's a suburban symphony of emotion, and it's fascinating to revisit it in the light of The Fabelmans.
The President's Cake
Nine year old Lamia and her friend Saeed venture into the city to scrounge ingredients for a cake to celebrate Sadaam Hussein's birthday — a quest fraught with real peril in precarious times. Winner, Camera d'Or, Cannes.
Antonia's Line
This month's Pantheon selection spotlights the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the Dutch feminist filmmaker Marleen Gorris, and her charming, vibrant tale of an emancipated farmer who refuses to conform.
