Chizuru
JAPAN / 2011 / Japanese / Color / Blu-ray / 79 min
Director, Editing: Akazaki Masakazu
Photography: Akazaki Masakazu, Akazaki Kumi
Sound: Ishiyama Tomohiro
Music: Uchiike Hidekazu
Supervisor: Uchiyama Tokio
Producer: Ikeya Kaoru
World Sales: “Chizuru” Exhibition Committee
www.chizuru-movie.com
A refreshing directorial debut capturing one year in the life of the filmmaker’s mother and his mentally disabled and autistic younger sister, Chizuru. The film, originally planned as a graduation thesis project, starts with a confrontation with Chizuru, whom the filmmaker had always tried to hide from his friends. It is a story of a mother’s acceptance of her daughter, who is at times an angel, at times violently resistant. It is also a story of personal growth.
[Director’s Statement] The everyday life of my younger sister, Chizuru, with her singular sensibility and her slightly unordinary family. It will make me happy if you laugh a little while watching the film with warm eyes. I think my sister and mother, who revealed all for this film, will be happy, too, and so will my father and the dog.
Akazaki Masakazu
Born in Yokohama, 1988. Graduate of the Department of Body Expression and Cinematic Arts, College of Contemporary Psychology at Rikkyo University. Starting with his graduate film, Chizuru, about his autistic and mentally disabled little sister, he is following a path to “welfare.” He currently works at a welfare center for the mentally disabled in Tokyo. |
Interview