World Premiere

18-year-old Hikaru has just graduated from high school and she has travelled alone from Niigata to Tokyo to meet the father she has never known without telling her mother. Her parents originally met in Shinjuku but after parting, her mother Mayumi left the city and gave birth to and raised Hikaru alone while her father Naohide stayed put and became a scriptwriter of a hit TV romance drama. Despite being able to imagine and write moving works of fiction, the reality of having an illegitimate child leaves him bewildered and, out of guilt, he tries to get involved in Hikaru’s life again while balancing responsibilities to his current girlfriend and avoiding upsetting Mayumi.

What transpires is a road movie shot amidst beautiful scenery like Niigata and Oiso over four seasons. It offers a contemplative and somewhat sad look at the idea of “ties that bind,” be they blood or love, and how they have their limits and loneliness lurks, ready to swallow characters up. [Jason MAHER]