One Summer Story
Press Play to start
Theatrical Screenings
Kinoteka 1
Kinoteka 1
Online Availability
Additional Materials
Film description
A genuine if absurd road movie. With the end of the school year, a girl embarks on a journey to find her biological father. She will be joined by a new friend from school, an anime fan just like her. The two teens immediately connect. When the girl finally finds her father, he turns out to be one of the founders of a prominent Japanese sect. Okita isn’t interested in resentments and mistakes of the past, but neither does he peddle in the naive belief that everything can be made right. As is par for the course in his world, he is mostly fascinated by the opportunities to deepen relationships not yet entirely ruined.
Shuichi Okita weaves an eccentric coming-of-age tale, steeped in the ephemeral atmosphere of the summer. He is also an unparalleled master of so-called feel-good narration. With a deft and unique touch, he wields the summer ambience to create a distinct world populated by a wide array of complex characters, including ones the type of which you’ll hardly find in mainstream narratives. He manipulates the conventions of a family drama with insight and empathy, focusing on closeness from the very first scene, and shows in his inimitable way that even watching anime together can be warm and soothing.
text:
Łukasz Mańkowski
Shuichi Okita
Born in 1977 in Saitama. Award-winning director known for his unique humor and oddball biographies of odd characters. Author of over a dozen feature films. His career breakthrough came with A Story of Yonosuke. The Japan Feel-Good section includes three of his movies, acclaimed on the international festival circuit and showcasing his idiosyncratic style as one of the most empathetic observers of today’s Japan.
2009 Nankyoku ryōrinin / The Chef of South Polar
2012 Kitsutsuki to ame / The Woodsman and the Rain
2013 Opowieść o Yonosuke / Yokomichi Yonosuke / A Story of Yonosuke
2014 Taki wo mini iku / Ecotherapy Getaway Holiday
2016 Mohikan kokyōni kaeru / The Mohican Comes Home
2018 Mori, siedlisko artysty / Mori no iru basho / Mori, the Artist's Habitat
2020 Ora, Ora Be Goin' Alone
2021 Letnia opowieść / Kodomo wa wakatte agenai / One Summer Story
2022 Rybie dziecko / Sakana no ko / The Fish Tale