When the time comes to publish the best new features I saw in 2023, it is as good as guaranteed that Keishi Kondo’s New Religion will be on that list. It is not simply up my alley: right now it feels as … Continue reading OAFF: New Religion (2022)
A man drunkenly staggers along a beach-side road: Nobuo, played by Hidetoshi Kawaya. On the street he discovers a piece of paper, upon which someone has written the word ‘heaven’. This leads him to wonder if, by some unexpected change, … Continue reading OAFF: Is This Heaven? (2023)
24-year-old Nozomi (Erika Karata) had a respectable job at an advertising agency. After incessant and exhausting overtime, she quit. Now she works at a convenience store and pays the rent on a one-room apartment, all the time hiding from her … Continue reading OAFF: When Morning Comes, I Feel Empty (2022)
Since his daughter’s murder seven years ago, Katsu Higuchi (Shogen) has lived in a haze of grief and alcohol. Once a successful author, he has not written anything new in years. His ex-wife Sumiko (Megumi) has remarried. When a letter … Continue reading OAFF: December (2022)
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