DIRECTOR

Emma Kawawada (First feature)

CAST

Lina Arashi (First feature)
Daiken Okudaira “Mother”

Film Festivals & Awards

2022 Berlin International Film Festival - Generation Kplus (Special Mention in Amnesty International Film Award)
2022 World Cinema Amsterdam Film Festival - Exchange Award

Duration/Release

114 min / Release in Japan: May 6, 2022

Synopsis

For Sarya (17), a Kurdish refugee girl in Japan, life seems to be looking up; her grades at school are enough to pursue college, she’s surrounded with good friends and her relationship with Sota is becoming special. Sarya’s life becomes upside down, however, when she learns that her family’s refugee status is turned down, restricting her family of work and traveling across the city. Her father, who had continued to work to sustain a living, is taken into custody for illegal employment. Sarya is now suddenly forced into a situation where she is responsible not only for her younger siblings but for her very existence.