INTRODUCTION
Japan/UK/France Production
A Little Stranger Films / Hakawati Production
In Association with Les Films du Balibari & Postcode Films
Format: HD; 94 minutes
Fumi and Kazu are partners in love and law; they run the first law firm in Japan set up by an openly gay couple. As lawyers driven by their own experience of being outsiders, they attract a range of clients who reveal the hidden diversity of a country that prides itself for collective obedience, politeness and conformity. Tired of being silenced and made to feel invisible, the lawyers and their misfit clients expose and challenge the archaic status quo that deems them second-class citizens. With the backdrop of civil liberties under attack, the film poses universal questions about what it takes to be an individual, what it means to be a minority and what role a family plays in our increasingly polarised world.
Winner of Best Film Award at 30th Tokyo International Film Festival’s Independent Japanese Cinema category.
Winner of the FIREBIRD AWARD for BEST DOCUMENTARY at Hong Kong International Film Festival 2018
‘Eye opening… While it may be steeped in the intricacies of Japanese society, it is also teeming with international relevance.’ Screendaily
‘Fumi and Kazu have a lot to teach us about love.’ Jay Bernard, BFI Flare programmer / Ted Hughes Award winning poet
CREDITS
Director / Producer: Hikaru Toda
Producer: Elhum Shakerifar
Cinematographer: Jason Brooks
Editor & Associate producer: Takeshi Hata
Composer: Yuichiro Maeda
Co-producer: Estelle Robin You
Made with the support of Chicken & Egg Pictures, DR, Procirep, Société des producteurs - Angoa, J-LOP4, Omomuki Foundation, Daiwa Foundation, The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation; with development support from BBC Storyville and development support from NHK & NHK Enterprises. Completed with the support of Women Make Movies Production Assistance Program.
PRESS
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'While it may be steeped in the intricacies of Japanese society, it is also teeming with international relevance.'
Screendaily
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'A movie about how Japan is failing its minorities ought to be a downer, but Toda’s protagonists, Kazu and Fumi, are terrific company, and their warmth seeps through the film. Their battle against a rigidly conservative society may be ultimately doomed, but they left me with a sense that love will win in the end.'
Japan Times
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Female filmmakers bagged top prizes at the Hong Kong International Film Festival on Monday, with Chinese drama “Girls Always Happy” scooping two awards and Japanese gay documentary “Of Love & Law” leading the documentary race.
Variety