News

With the focus on mid and short films increasing significantly this year, Osaka Asian Film Festival presented another quite intriguing edition, with the choices from both within Japan and the rest of Asia highlighting the quality of the programming once more. At the same time though, the fact that both Japanese and Korean cinema, which make up for a large part of the program, are not on their best years, does take a toll. Particularly regarding the former, the repetition of the same tropes, and more importantly, the almost complete lack of tension most Japanese movies seem to exhibit nowadays, does border on the annoying. There were still some films that stood out, with “Snowdrop”, “Swimming in a Sand Pool” , “Inch Forward”, and “Girls and Boys” exhibiting some fresh ideas, but the aforementioned fact remains. At the same time, it is also a fact that is quite difficult to find...

Yoshida Kota was born 1978 in Tokyo and graduated from Waseda University. He studied filmmaking at the Enbu seminar and gained international recognition with “Yuriko's Aroma” (2010) at festivals like “Nippon Connection”. Different from his last film “Sexual Drive” (2021), he now turns to the severe topic of social welfare and presents a gripping social drama.

On the occasion of the world premiere at “Osaka Asian Film Festival” Yoshida Kota reveals his thoughts behind the script and talks about how to combine vulnerability and dignity on screen.

“Snow Drop” is a courageous movie because it does not shy away from a challenging and unadressed topic. Everyone talks about the ageing Japanese society. There are also more and more movies that adress this “problem” in terms of dementia and eldery care. But it seems to me that most of them stay on a superficial and bold level in telling these stories. Your movie is different.

Receiving welfare in Japan is a social stigma. Family members are called and asked if there is financial support, supervisors inspect your privacy, and on top of that, you feel the psychological pressure of being labeled as a failed individual. That's why many people in Japan hesitate to make use of it and the downward spiral into poverty worsens. Kota Yoshida showcases one of these touching cases in his newest film “Snow Drop” which has its world premiere at the Osaka Asian Film Festival.

Snow Drop is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival

Over 33 years “Snow Drop” tells the story of Naoko and her family. Leaving the family when she was little, her father Eiji returns home after 15 years. In the following years, her mother becomes demented and has to be taken care of at home. After Eiji has an accident that prevents him from continuing his job, Naoko, now...