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BACHIRANUN

By Aika HIGASHIMORI

PFF - PIA FILM FESTIVAL - as SALES All rights

First film - Completed 2021

An aesthetically striking work of docufiction that pays tribute to the unique island culture of Yonaguni.

- Year of production
- 2021
- Genres
- First film, Fantasy, Documentary
- Countries
- JAPAN
- Languages
- JAPANESE
- Duration
- 61 mn
- Director(s)
- Aika HIGASHIMORI
- Cast
- Aika HIGASHIMORI, Nami SASAKI, Kenta ISHIDA
- Synopsis
- Multi-talented filmmaker HIGASHIMORI Aika (writer, director, actress, DP, editor) crafts a tribute to her birthplace island of Yonaguni, located just over 100km from Taiwan as Japan’s westernmost point. A cast of local characters, including a uniformed schoolgirl (Higashimori herself), a young man in a straw hat, and a young woman who wields a bone, appear in poetic vignettes fluidly interspersed with scenes of Yonaguni’s artisanal traditions and cultural heritage. Fishing, music, weaving and other activities are all captured for their inherent beauty. Higashimori’s own grandmother tells her vivid stories of how she and other villagers prayed to the gods for rain in her youth. As pristine as Yonaguni is, it hasn’t completely escaped environmental issues. A woman tenderly picks up the carcass of a dead gull on the road, its innards enmeshed with plastic refuse. In another scene, a picturesque beach is littered with garbage, some of it from other countries.