｜Length : 45min. ｜Year : 2014 ｜

“La representación del Shodo” – una forma creativa de caligrafía en la que chicas de secundaria dibujan caracteres sobre una hoja de papel de gran tamaño a la vez que realizan rutinas con música. La “Representación del Shodo Koshien” se celebró por primera vez en 2008 en la ciudad de Shikokuchuo, en la Prefectura de Ehime, conocida como la principal productora de papel en Japón. Un grupo de estudiantes de secundaria locales deciden celebrar este evento para promocionar y revitalizar a su ciudad natal golpeada por la recesión.
La película se realizó en base a esta historia real. Las Chicas del Shodo y la Representación del Shodo se volvieron ampliamente conocidas en todo Japón para el momento en que se celebró la tercera “Representación del Shodo Koshien” el 31 de julio de 2010. En la primera competencia solamente participaron 3 escuelas, y luego 5 en la segunda; esta vez se presentaron 18 escuelas de todo el país.
Las Chicas del Shodo originales de la escuela secundaria Ehime Prefectural Mishima no solo hicieron su debut cinematográfico en la película, sino que también realizaron una Representación del Shodo en vivo en Cannes, Francia, donde se estaba celebrando el Festival Internacional de Cine. Las ya populares Chicas del Shodo buscan maneras de sacar el mayor provecho de los movimientos dinámicos de la caligrafía en su forma original.
La escuela secundaria Kumamoto Prefectural Tamana, concursante por primera vez, se presenta para crear un último recuerdo de su querido instructor, que se retirará al final del año académico. Pero las diferencias de opiniones son frecuentes entre el instructor de 60 años y los estudiantes de 17. El problema continúa hasta el día de la competencia, cuando el instructor les indica a sus estudiantes que eliminen una parte específica de la representación para que esta se complete en el tiempo límite de 6 minutos. Los miembros del equipo se reúnen en una habitación del internado esa tarde y deciden desobedecerle para realizar su actuación de la manera en la que iban a hacerlo originalmente, sin decirle nada. Lo hacen porque quieren a su instructor y quieren tener una oportunidad de agradecerle.
3.000 espectadores colman el lugar el día de la competencia. Las Chicas del Shodo están nerviosas y sienten una enorme presión. Luego de completar su actuación, las Chicas del Shodo lloran, aliviadas, y recordando las diversas adversidades que tuvieron que vencer.
Finalmente, la presentación de los resultados. Más lágrimas caen durante la competencia – por una variedad de diferentes motivos y sentimientos.

｜Length : 47.13min ｜Year : 2023 ｜

Yoshinari Ishimura is a 29-year-old autistic man from Japan. He’s also a prolific artist who primarily paints animals. Overflowing with vivid color and life, his work has captivated art lovers globally. Much like his art, Yoshinari is vibrant, tenderhearted, and brimming with passion.
Yoshinari's family learned he was autistic when he was young. Determined to teach her son how to overcome the challenges in his path, his mother raised him strictly but with immense care. Though she tragically passed away when he was a child, Yoshinari's life has been unmistakably shaped by her love and guidance.
In 2023, a large exhibition of Yoshinari's work was held. He worked tirelessly for a year to create a 26-meter-long masterpiece titled Animal History for the event. The piece overflows with emotion, from Yoshinari's unwavering enthusiasm to the love of his departed mother. In all his work, Yoshinari hopes to convey a poignant message.

｜Length : 54min ｜Year : 2022 ｜

This stage is set on an island called Shikoku. There was once a municipal aquarium in a small town on this island. It was built 87 years ago, and it was the very first aquarium in Shikoku. After that municipal aquarium closed, the townspeople wished to revive it once more and that’s how the Naga High Aquarium was born. It’s an aquarium inside a school. Ehime Prefecture Nagahama High School. They have the nation’s only Aquarium club, and there are 2,000 sea creatures of 150 kinds inside the school building.

The club members feed the fish every day, cleans the tanks, and give their all to care for them. Those sea creatures can be seen at the public viewing every third Saturday of the month, and many people visit the school on that day. A popular event during the public viewing is “Tommy’s Yellowtail Show”. High school students became yellowtail trainers, and they trained yellowtails to create what may be the world’s first yellowtail show. The show puts a smile on everyone’s faces. It creates a moment of happiness.

We began recording footage at Naga High Aquarium ever since the public viewing started in 1999. Among them is a segment covering six years of the yellowtail show, starting when the founder “Tommy” first entered the school. In 2018, western Japan suffered from a disaster caused by torrential rainfall. The school closed, and many fish died. In addition to that, Nagahama High School is not a preparatory school, and it’s not very easy to access, so they have to deal with declining student admissions. The school may have to close for good if there are not enough new students coming in. The club members shoulder the dreams of the townspeople and older students who left the club in their care, as they overcome crises and work hard every day. Together with all the sea creatures.

｜Length : 26min ｜Year : 2020 ｜

Taisuke Aono lives in Niihama, Ehime Prefecture.
All he knew how to cook was burnt chicken and yakisoba filled with vegetables. But when his daughter Nat-chan started high school, he decided to start making bento boxes for her.
Nat-chan didn't think he could keep this up for long, since he couldn't stick to a diet, or quit drinking and smoking. And the first bento box he made was a mess...
But her dad kept cooking in the kitchen morning after morning.
All of his bento boxes came with a handwritten menu.
He would give each bento box a title, like "Wimbledon" or "Motivational Katsudon Bento," and would write about Nat-chan's club activities, her tests, events happening in Japan, and updates about his diets.
For three years, he kept making bento boxes and writing menus.
These menus soon became letters from father to daughter.
It wasn't long before he'd made 100, then 500, then nearly 700 lunch boxes. Then came Nat-chan's graduation.
What did he write for his 700th and final menu?

This program depicts the casual life of a single-parent family, and one father's loving bento boxes with humorous and emotional menus.

｜Length : 45 ｜Year : 2019 ｜

On the coast of an inlet in western Ehime Prefecture is the town of Tawarazu. This small community with a population of 1,000 has many elderly residents.
This town has a bento box shop called “Yumesakuya,” run by the 55-year-old Yumiko Utsunomiya. She also delivers meals, to help senior citizens who can’t shop for themselves.
Koume, one of her elderly customers, says to Yumiko, “I’m as helpless as a baby. Don’t leave me alone, please.”
Yumiko’s bento bring the lonely senior citizens comfort, and save their lives.

What is it that drives Yumiko?

“Putting a smile on people’s faces.”

As Japan’s population ages, more and more senior citizens have no means to feed themselves. Tawarazu, which used to prosper from mandarin orange orchards, is no exception.
At “Yumesakuya,” the town’s mothers work hard to save these shopping refugees.
They deliver to the elderly who can’t walk to the store out of a spirit of charity. What would be a ten minute’s walk for a healthy person is impossibly far away for others.
After the heavy rains of July 2018, “Yumesakuya” reopened as a mini-supermarket.
This documentary portrays the plight of shopping refugees, and the powerful lives of the local mothers who stand up for them.