Kicking off our Diversity and Inclusion film series this year, is “Close-Knit” (2017 2 hr. 7 min.), a drama by writer and director Naoko Ogigami about Tomo, an 11-year old girl who discovers her mother has abandoned her. Tomo’s uncle and his transgender girlfriend, Rinko, take her in. November 13 also marks the beginning of Transgender Awareness Week.
The second film in this series is Bilal Kawazoe’s “Whole,” about two men who bond over coming to terms with being biracial while living in Japan (2019 44 min.) and will be screened in February 2024.
The third in our series is “Rage” (2016), a dark murder mystery examining the relationships of suspects and their pasts. Directed by Lee Sang-il and based on Shuichi Yoshida’s mystery novel of the same name.