Trailer
Award Ceremony
STORY
Hikari, living her life feeling her existence as rather faint without any significant worries,
is one day captivated by a photograph. She reaches out to the person who took the picture,
requesting a portrait photo of herself through an email.
Despite her everyday life remaining unchanged, a reply she had almost forgotten
about finally arrives when she least expects it.
These were the words from Masato, a deaf landscape photographer living in a remote forest in Hokkaido.
The relationship between Hikari and Masato begins to gradually influence those around them,
and then...
"I've never taken a portrait before.
And, I am deaf.
So, I can't speak.
I don't think we will be able to communicate smoothly.
But if you're still okay with that…"
cast
鈴木タカラ
/ TAKARA SUZUKI
大山真絵子
/ MAEKO OYAMA
森山祥伍
/ SHOGO MORIYAMA
池田彰夫
/ AKIO IKEDA
勝又啓太
/ KEITA KATSUMATA
田野真悠
/ MAYU TANO
菅野はな
/ HANA KANNO
内田竜次
/ RYUJI UCHIDA
築山万有美
/ MAYUMI TSUKIYAMA
田中稔彦
/ TOSHIHIKO TANAKA
KAZUKO YUKI MIHO HAKUTA
NAOKI NAGAI IZUMI KOBAYASHI
KAHOKO TAKI KURUMI ITSUKI
YUKA SHIMIZU SHINJIRO TAKAHASHI SHUSUKE WADA
SOTA KOJIMA TAIKI YANASE DAICHI TANAKA
SHOTARO ICHIKAWA YUSUKE MIYAWAKI KANA TAKEDA
RISA NAGAI TAKESHI YANO HIROYUKI SHOJI
SANTARO NAKAOKA YUTA UEMURA KANJI YAMAGUCHI
TADASHI MIZUNO YUJI SUGAO TSUKIOKA SUZU
CHIAKI TSUKASA UDAGAWA HARU KURAGANE
AO KAZUKI WAKANA TACHI HIROTSUGU KUROI
YUKIKO AKAHOSHI YUTA AIKYO MITSUYASU ADACHI TAKAYUKI ARAI
IROHA ABE MASAYA ISE TAKUYA UESUGI SHOTA IMAI TSUBAME
OGURA SHOKEN KATANO NICHIKO KASAI KOJI KATO
RYOTARO KAWAGUCHI TOMOE KATO HINA KAWAMURA HIROAKI KANNO
MARIKA KANNO TAKASHI KUNOGI KOYO KUROIWA YOSHIHIRO KUMANO
NAGAMASA KURODA MIKA KOMORI NORIKO KOUBE YUSUKE KONNO
KAORI SASAHARA TAKATOSHI SAITO FUMIKO SHIMOKAWA YOSUKE SUZUKI
YUKI SHIRAI YOSHIYUKI SETOGUCHI RIE TATESHIMA KOSUKE TASHIRO
MAMIKO TOKIOKA RIYO TOYOSE DAIGOU TOYOKAWA NAOKO NAKAMURA
YUMI NATSUNO SUZUKA NAKAYAMA NOZOMI NANBA TADAHIRO HABA
OUZEN NOGAMI SOZO HIRASAWA YUKO MARYUYAMA TAKENORI MATSUNO
KASUMI MISHINA TAKESHI MISHINA SATSUKI MISHINA TOYOKAZU MISHIMA
YOSHIHISA MIYAZAWA SHIGEAKI MIYAUCHI TOSHIMITSU NAGASAKI KANNA YAMASHITA
YASUO YAMAUCHI YOKO YAMASHITA MAKOTO YONEDA EMI YOSHIDA
LUNA SEIKO WATANABE YUI WAKITA
Our greatest strength lies in "having nothing"
Our feature film, “Rei”, was completed after approximately a year of filming and an extended production period.
And it has won the Tiger Award, the Best Film Prize at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, one of the most prestigious film festivals globally. This marks the first time a Japanese film has ever received this award on its own.
Despite receiving such an honorable nomination, to be brutally honest, our film production team was, 'the weakest among the weak!' We started with a scrappy independent production. During the initial stages of production, we only had two people involved in all facets of the film, both cast and crew. It was such a production where we started rolling the cameras in this state.
We had no cast, no crew, no money, not even a proposal. We had nothing that could be called a weapon. On the contrary, the passion generated from "having nothing" has never been disrupted and continues to this day.
Thanks to the numerous people who sympathized with us and lent us their helping hands, we have somehow managed to make it this far.
Director's Comment
Intent behind Production
Feelings Embedded in the Work
The making of this film was a personal battle to change my own life. While I usually work as a stage actor, during the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic when theaters were closing, and various changes were inevitable, I found myself thinking, "Waiting won't do, and doing the same things as everyone else won't lead anywhere!" So, I decided to create a feature film, submit it to international film festivals, and aim to win awards!
I wanted not only myself but also every cast and crew member involved to contribute to paving the way for the next phase of their lives. The main cast was chosen through auditions to ensure that capable individuals had equal opportunities, and I aimed to shine the spotlight on everyone, extending to the supporting cast. The staff, composed of amateurs who were not professionals but were eager to try something new, willingly stepped forward, saying, "I may be from a different field, but I want to try making a movie!"
From the stage of scriptwriting, the intention was not to create a commercially-oriented film, but rather, without being overly extravagant, to focus on people with various issues that could be found anywhere.
"I wanted to depict humanity, the struggles of being human, the fragility and messiness of those living vulnerably, and, in contrast, wanted to portray the beauty, severity, and warmth of nature."
The resulting work is a culmination of my thoughts. Consequently, it became a feature film lasting over three hours. I hope that as this film receives global recognition, those who contributed to it can grow and be connected to the next opportunity, turning this project into a piece that will be appreciated worldwide.
Cinematography
Yoshihito Nakashima
Erika Arai
Akio Ikeda
Yusuke Soramura
Lighting
Kaori Okubo
Sound Recording
Kana Yuasa
Sound Effects
Hideki Tanaka
Makeup Artist
Mayuko Kihara
YUKA
Shio Tanaka
Editing
Toshihiko Tanaka
Costume
Sayuri Nishida
Costume Assistant
NanWoonJong
Production Coordinator
Rin Fujimoto
Assistant Directors
Haruka Takahashi
Taisei Sanada
Keigo Endo
Mountain Guides
Yukinori Otsuka
Koichi Toba
Tomohisa Matsuno
Aerial Photography (Drone)
Yukinori Otsuka
Toshihiko Tanaka
Title Design
Sho Do Ka ORIGIN
Still Photography
Daiki Tomida
Medical Advisor
Yumiko Yanagida
Key Visual Design
Jiro Ueno
Kentaro Honma
Vehicles
Takaharu Oikawa
Location Supporter in Shimukappu Village
Takahiro Abe
Filming Support
占冠村役場企画商工課 占冠・村づくり観光協会 一般社団法人美瑛町観光協会
一般社団法人旭川観光コンベンション協会 奈良県川西町役場
北海道旅客鉄道株式会社 北海道エアポート株式会社 株式会社ＡＩＲＤＯ
医療法人白百合会幕張病院 昭和記念公園 東叡山浄名院 北海道トラベルサービス合同会社
ココネ株式会社 アイデアファクトリー株式会社 株式会社Ask
株式会社セイコーフレッシュフーズ ワカサリゾート株式会社大雪山旭岳ロープウェイ
株式会社フジヤカメラ店 株式会社STVラジオ 深谷観光バス株式会社
千鳥ハイヤー株式会社 コンドルタクシー株式会社
Theater Green Big Tree Theater 下北沢・駅前劇場 溝ノ口劇場
株式会社新井プレス 有限会社アグリテック 友池プロデュース
TIMELESS COMFORT自由が丘店 ザ・ライブリー東京麻布十番
PEOPLE WISE CAFE 占冠湯の沢温泉森の四季
Bar Caravinキャラヴァン もつ鍋らく大岡山本店 和葉れとろ
依田宥弥 谷澤尋 ニニウファーム
Costume Support
株式会社モンベル シチズン AOKI
Art Cooperation
花智 株式会社協和木工所 京王フェアウェルサポート株式会社 門間敬行（写真提供）
Props Support
ナツメ社（やさしい手話） 大塚友記憲（写真集写真提供）
上野治郎（写真集デザイン） 株式会社ポケットビジョン
Research Cooperation
うめだ・あけぼの子ども相談支援センター 東京都聴覚障害者連盟
Higashikawa Promotion Corporation
No Saint.&Bloom Co., Ltd.
Special Sponsorship
Production Company
Theatre
In spring 2024, the film will be gradually released nationwide in Japan.
Prefectures
Theater
tell
Screening period
Tokyo
03-3352-1846
5/31(Fri)〜6/6(Thu)
Tokyo
03-5315-0978
6/7(Fri)〜
Osaka
06-6440-5930
6/28(Fri)〜
Hokkaido
011-221-3802
6/21(Fri)〜
