A Lyrical Tale of Art and Life, Sculpted with Humor and Empathy
Sneak Preview Screening: "Nagi Notes (Nagi Diary)"
followed by a Q&A with director Koji Fukada
Wednesday, September 16 at 6:00 pm
In Japanese with English subtitles
Japan/France/Singapore/Philippines, 2026 110 minutes
Written and directed by: Koji Fukada
Produced by: Atsuko Ohno, Ryo Nagai, Michiaki Tsunoda
Starring: Takako Matsu, Shizuka Ishibashi,
Kenichi Matsuyama, Waku Kawaguchi, Kiyora Fujiwara,
Sawako Fujima, Long Mizuma, Suhkye Shin
Film courtesy of Star Sands
The films of acclaimed auteur Koji Fukada are not known for their sweetness and light. Yet he has amply suffused his new work, "Nagi Notes" with both; and despite the absence of his trademark twisted themes, it became the first of Fukada's films to be selected for the Official Competition of the Cannes Film Festival this past May.
Set in the small mountain town of Nagi, Okayama, and anchored by a trio of perfectly calibrated performances, it is a gentle drama exploring art, nature and human connection that is consistently absorbing and quietly powerful.
"Nagi Notes" opens with the arrival in town of Yuri (Ishibashi), a successful architect from Tokyo, who's reached both a professional and personal impasse. She has come to spend time with her friend and former sister-in-law Yoriko (Matsu), a sculptor and art teacher who was born and raised in Nagi. As Yuri poses and Yoriko sculpts her bust in clay and then aged camphorwood, the two women reconnect and begin sharing confidences that were long hidden. Their conversations are punctuated by local events like a fair at the Arata Isozaki-designed Nagi MOCA museum, hikes in the woods, balalaika concerts and dramatically, the escape of three dairy cows in a storm.
There are also interactions with local residents, including Yoriko's widowed classmate Yoshihiro (Matsuyama), two best-friend teens who are faced with imminent separation as one boy's father is being transferred, and a benign ghost. The seemingly tranquil days in Nagi gradually reveal emotional landscapes shaped by loss, solitude and the search for "freedom from acceptance" - informed by the 10 months that Fukada spent immersing himself in the rhythms of the community.
Please join us for this sneak preview and Q&A session before the Japan release of "Nagi Notes" on September 25.
For more (in Japanese): https://starsands.com/nagidiary
KOJI FUKADA is one of Japan's leading contemporary filmmakers, internationally acclaimed for his incisive-explosive dramas exploring family and the hidden tensions of everyday life. His films have been selected for the world's major festivals, starting with his debut, "Hospitalité" (2010), which won Best Picture in the Japanese Eyes competition of the Tokyo International Film Festival. "Au Revoir l'été" won the grand prize and the prize of the young jury at the Three Continents Festival in 2013, and "Harmonium" (2016) won the Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize. "A Girl Missing" (2019) premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, while "Love Life" (2022) premiered in Competition at the Venice International Film Festival, and "Love on Trial" (2026) played in the Cannes Premiere section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. Fukada is also a committed arts activist, having co-founded and led several nonprofit groups seeking to improve conditions in the independent film industry, and participated in campaigns to save arthouse theaters during the Covid pandemic.
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