World Premiere
Ten years after moving to Vancouver, struggling visual artist Kana Yamamoto (Mayumi Yoshida) returns to Tokyo to attend the funeral of her beloved grandmother. Arriving in Japan, she rekindles a tentative flame with her bashful ex-boyfriend, Hiro (Ryo Tajima), an aspiring thespian who vanished from her life a decade prior. As Kana digs deeper into her grandmother’s past, she uncovers a family secret that prompts her to reconsider everything she thought she knew about love, duty, and belonging.
A feature adaptation of writer/director/actor Mayumi Yoshida’s autofictional short film of the same name, Akashi’s largely black-and-white cinematography evokes the solemnity of Kana’s grief, with select scenes brought to life in vivid colour. Themes of identity, class struggle, and artistic aspiration coalesce as the film shifts between the past and present to explore contrasting tales of star-crossed romance. Awash in synth soundscapes and driven by emotionally resonant performances, this tender drama asserts love’s ability to bridge any and all distances.
Oct 5 & 9: Q&A
Presented by
Media Partner
Mayumi Yoshida, Hana Kino, Ryo Tajima, Sayaka Kunisada, Bun Kimura, Yuriko Onuma
Canada
2025
In Japanese and English with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Thursday October 09
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Julie Waters, Evan Dyal, Mallory Schwartz, Tyler Hagan, Kathleen Hepburn, Nach Dudsdeemaytha, Justin Ambrosino, Mayumi Yoshida
Producer
Nach Dudsdeemaytha, Tyler Hagan
Screenwriter
Mayumi Yoshida
Cinematography
Jaryl Lim
Editor
Nach Dudsdeemaytha
Production Design
Neil Colango
Original Music
Andrew Yong Hoon Lee
Mayumi Yoshida 吉田真由美
Mayumi Yoshida is a director, actor, and writer born in Japan, raised in three continents, and currently based in Vancouver. Her international background brings a unique “in-betweener” point of view to her storytelling. She is an alumna of the Warner Bros. Discovery Access x Canadian Academy’s Writer/Director Program, TIFF Writer’s Studio, and Beyond Japan Filmmakers Program, where she was mentored by Hirokazu Koreeda. Her Juno-nominated music video “Different Than Before” won the Jury Award at SXSW and screened at Oscar- and BAFTA-qualifying film fests.
Filmography: Akashi (2017)
Northern Lights
See more films in this series
Hemela
Hemela is a tender documentary celebrating resilience and cultural memory in a diasporic community. Through food, laughter, and tradition, Pirouz Nemati crafts a luminous portrait of a woman whose everyday life radiates extraordinary warmth and joy.
Akashi
In Mayumi Yoshida’s tender drama, struggling artist Kana journeys to Tokyo to attend her grandmother’s funeral. While there, she reconnects with her childhood love and stumbles across a family secret that prompts her to reconsider her place in the world.
Clan of the Painted Lady
Jennifer Chiu’s engrossing documentary explores the Hakka — a people, a language, and a culture that have been obscured for far too long. Tracing her own lineage back to from Canada to China, the director creates an illuminating, bravely personal film.
A Welcome Distraction
In the wake of a personal tragedy, a young man living in Vancouver does whatever he can to avoid reconnecting with his family. An ambient ode to our city, and a sensitive and relatable portrait of life within it.
Modern Whore
In director Nicole Bazuin’s cheeky, stylized documentary, Modern Whore-memoirist Andrea Werhun (Paying for It, VIFF 2024) recounts her experiences as an escort and stripper in Toronto, debunking misconceptions about the world’s oldest profession.
Levers
After the world is plunged into darkness, an intrepid civil servant undertakes an odyssey into a world shrouded in mystery. An ominous story conveyed through a potent mixture of bewitching fantasy and the idleness of the everyday.
Nesting
Adjusting to her new life as a mother after the traumatic birth of her son, Pénélope witnesses a violent robbery that triggers visions of her sister’s death. Chloé Cinq-Mars’s debut feature is a tense psychological thriller exploring postpartum depression.
Follies
After two kids and 16 years of marriage, François and Julie decide to open up their relationship in a bid to rekindle their dwindling sex life. A painfully hilarious and brutally honest depiction of love, sex, and intimacy.