(2025, Japan, France, Malaysia, Germany, 99')
Shafi, 4, and his sister Somira, 9, leave a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh to reach Malaysia and reunite with a relative who emigrated for work. Guided by the pure gaze of childhood, they undertake a perilous journey filled with hope, fear, and resilience. Their odyssey becomes a search for identity, a dramatic echo of a community’s struggle to survive. Featuring non-professional actors and cinematography by Yoshio Kitagawa, the film blends fiction and documentary.
During his studies at the Visual Arts Academy in Osaka, Akio Fujimoto (Osaka, 1988) directed his first short film, Psychedelic Family (2012), which received critical acclaim at numerous international film festivals. His feature debut, Passage of Life (2017), earned him the Best Asian Future Film Award and the Spirit of Asia Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival.