A Luminous Portrait of a Young Survivor in the Charred Ruins of Postwar Japan
Sneak Preview Screening: CHILDREN UNTOLD (Watashi no Shiranai Kodomotachi)
followed by a Q&A with director Miwa Nishikawa and actor Ami Koyae
Thursday October 1, 4:30 P.M.*
(Please note early* start time)
In Japanese with English subtitles Japan, 2026 150 minutes
Written and directed by: Miwa Nishikawa
Produced by: Daiju Koide, Taichi Ito
Starring: Ami Koyae, Fumi Nikaido, Ryota Bando,
Kaito Sakurai, Yukiya Kitamura, Yoh Yoshida,
Yutaka Takenouchi, Junichi Okada, Yuko Tanaka, Koji Yakusho
Film courtesy of K2 Pictures
In an era when we must once again confront the costs of war, award-winning director Miwa Nishikawa has created an exceptional cautionary tale about what comes after the fighting ends. Selected as the Opening Film of the Competition section at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival, where it will receive its world premiere in early September, Nishikawa's "Children Untold" is a masterpiece. Uncompromising in its depiction of shattered lives and the compromises that survival forces us to make, it is unerringly compassionate, deeply profound, often heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful.
After learning that records estimate there were over 120,000 war orphans, none of whom received compensation from the government, Nishikawa ("The Long Excuse," "Under the Open Sky") spent years researching the lives of children who survived the devastation of postwar Japan, certain that their experiences could speak to audiences today. "Children Untold" recounts the harsh realities that robbed them of childhood and irrevocably changed their future - finally giving them a voice.
Amidst the charred ruins of Tokyo in 1945, 12-year-old Kotoko (Koyae, in a performance of astonishing power) arrives from rural evacuation with her classmates and teacher, Fumiko (Nikaido), hoping for a reunion with her family. As she struggles to find a way to subsist, surrounded by lives that have been transformed by defeat, loss and the collapse of the world they once knew, Kotoko realizes that being a girl makes her especially vulnerable. Cropping her hair, she disguises herself and falls in with a rowdy group of boys who help the local yakuza gang with petty theft and black market dealings. Living on the margins, the orphans find a sense of freedom in brotherhood, in their own ingenuity and resilience.
Fumiko, meanwhile, is haunted about leaving Kotoko behind, and despite her traumatic circumstances, sets out to find her. Their parallel journeys are filled with unimaginable torments - poverty, degradation, unblinking cruelty - yet remarkably, there is also kindness, caring and human decency.
Please join us for this sneak preview and Q&A session of the haunting, unforgettable "Children Untold" before the Japan release of the film on October 16.
For more (in Japanese): https://k2pic.com/film/wsk/
MIWA NISHIKAWA is an acclaimed director and screenwriter whose films have received accolades at major international festivals. Born in Hiroshima and a graduate of Waseda University, she worked with Hirokazu Kore-eda before making her directorial debut with "Wild Berries" (2003). Her second feature, "Sway" (2006), was acclaimed at the Cannes Film Festival. "Dear Doctor" (2009) won a Best Screenplay Award at the Japan Academy Prize, "Dreams for Sale" (2012) premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and "The Long Excuse" (2016) and "Under the Open Sky" (2021) played widely overseas.
Actor AMI KOYAE made her acting debut in the 2025 feature film "#I Will Tell You the Truth," followed by the short film "Happy End of the World." With no previous experience as a lead actor, she was chosen by Miwa Nishikawa after extensive auditions for "Children Untold," marking her first starring role in a feature.
Please make your reservations at the FCCJ Reception Desk 03 3211-3161 or register online.
All film screenings are private, noncommercial events primarily for FCCJ members and their guests.
- Karen Severns, Film Committee