Afterglows

It has been over a year since Akira's wife Sayuri took her own life. He found her lifeless in her bathroom after the press accused the star singer of having an affair. Apart from the consequences for her marriage, this also had a devastating effect on her career, which is why Sayuri saw no other way out to escape the public disgrace and media hounding. Akira has since spent his nights as a cab driver, reluctant to be reminded of the past tragedy and trying to live his life as detached as possible. Apart from the sporadic interactions with various characters who enter his cab, Akira has resigned himself to spending the rest of his life in isolation and not allowing any closer social contact. This attitude is put to the test again for the first time during one of his regular services: For the customer in his backseat is the exact image of his deceased wife.

In his debut feature, London-based Japanese director Taichi KIMURA has focused on special visual stimuli and strong imagery. The influence of his cinematic idol Pi is palpable. Kimura focuses on visualizing the feeling of love and loss. His actress MEGUMI can also be seen at our festival this year in the opening film December and in Ice Cream Fever.