52nd edition of New Directors/New Films
Festival&Award
The Deepest Space in Us
Japan | In Post-Production | Drama-Romance LGBTQ Nonbinary | 97min (tbc)
Director: Yasutomo CHIKUMA
Screenwriter: Yasutomo CHIKUMA
Producer: Yosuke KIKUCHI
Cinematographer: Tai OUCHI
Editor: Azusa YAMAZAKI
Art Director: Tomoya HATAKE
Sound: Kadoaki IZUTA
Music：MEITEI
Cast：
Momoko FUKUCHI
KANICHIRO
Ryutaro NAKAGAWA
Haruka KODAMA
Aki ASAKURA
Mariko TSUTSUI
ORIGINAL IDEA: Ryutaro NAKAGAWA
Synopsis
Kaori, an allomantic and asexual woman, is left shattered after her fiancé Takeru’s sudden suicide. Seeking closure, she embarks on a journey with Nakano, Takeru’s best friend, to the place of his death—unraveling hidden layers of love, identity, and the Takeru they never truly knew.
Director's Note
What does it mean for a person to recover - that was the impetus for writing this script.
When people are unable to recover from a shocking event, an unreasonable and absurd reality lies behind them. People feel the pain and ask themselves ‘Why?’ Why?’ But even if the answers are given, is it really possible to recover?
In my own opinion, I believe that a person's rebirth begins when they accept and face their unbearable pain for the first time. The power to face what one cannot come to terms with, even though nothing will be resolved - I feel that this is the essence of ‘living’.
Kaori, the protagonist of this film, is a being who faces such questions in a wounded way. Through her, I wanted to portray what recover and living are all about. I hope that the path she takes will be an answer for the audience.
In today's increasingly divided world, I made this film with the hope that what Kaori discovers will be even a small ray of hope.
Yasutomo Chikuma
Yasutomo Chikuma (b. 1983) is a Japanese director who started out as an actor (in 2004). He debuted in features in 2009 with Now I (Ima boku wa), which was picked up for Japanese distribution and presented at festivals both domestic and foreign. In 2001 he wrote the script for a medium-length film that screened at Locarno entitled Ninifuni (dir. Tetsuya Mariko). His second feature film The Ark in the Mirage(2015) was screened at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Forum of Independent Competition.
