Introduction

SHIZUKU, a drop of water, is colorless, shapeless and powerless, but it has limitless possibilities. Family is like SHIZUKU. What you can do on your own without family is very limited no matter how hard you work. Your family can be a perfect “Family” in the true sense of the word only if every family member comes together. You can get over any obstacles if you help each other. There is a strong bond between family members that does not exist in friendships and romantic relationships.

Teardrops are also very important in this film. Teardrops can evaporate in a second. They, however, will eventually come back as rain, and that rain will eventually flow into the ocean creating tremendous power. People cry when they are moved by their emotions. Emotions such as sadness, bitterness, and happiness can touch their hearts, and give you power to move forward.

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Synopsis

“nobody cares about me” “what is the important stuff in my life” A 'poor little rich girl' story about a teenage girl from Tokyo, living in a small world in a big city. One day Saki breaks up with her boyfriend who has been everything in her life. She is devastated and visits her grandparents in the countryside. She finds out that her most memorable place since childhood have been shut down due to radioactive pollution and her grandfather has been confined to bed as a result of an unknown illness. Saki starts actively participating in the community as an activist in order to save her grandfather as well as the village from the mysterious pollution. Through the activity, she begins to see her life from a different perspective and her personal values change as she realizes how important family love is.

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Cast

  • SAKI(21) ／Nanaka Kurobe

    Junior year college student who is fashionable and has beautiful long hair. She grows up in a conservative rich family and she has common courtesy. She is also a bit selfish and does all the things which her parents tell her not to do. She has a brother who is three years younger. She always tries to act like she is fully grown up. Although she wants to try something new in her life she gets bored with things easily, usually after a few months, because she does not take things seriously in general.

    Saki has been brought up in a family whose members historically have become politicians. Her parents have forced her and her brother, Yuto, to become politicians too. She goes to a posh private girls junior high and high school where she has taken several classes including sports as well as Japanese traditional activities but these have not lasted long. As she starts seeing her boyfriend and spends most of her time hanging out with him, her grades at school gradually get worse. On the other hand, Yuto always gets A’s and he is expected to go to the University of Tokyo. Their parents start to care about only Yuto and leave Saki behind. She decides to study in Canada for a while and she finds out that all the things her parents have taught her are not exactly true, and she starts questioning her parents. She has an argument with her mother, Yuko, over her future in her last sophomore year and she leaves home. She starts a new life in a way she sees fit without interference from her parents. Saki used to be a grandmother’s girl and often went to her grandparent’s place whenever some unwanted things had happened, but she hasn’t even seen them for over three years.

  • TAKAHIRO(45)／Nobutaka Ito

    Saki’s father. He was born in a traditionally political family as an only child and educated in the same way as his father and his grandfather were. He works hard from early morning till late at night and he doesn’t have time for his family. He doesn’t really talk much but when he does, he talks very logical and convincingly. Lately he drinks some whiskey and goes to bed early straight after work, but he knows he has to change his behavior in order to fix his family matters.

  • YUKO(43)／Yuna Kawahara

    Saki’s mother. A typical housewife of a politician. Very proud of her husband and his ancestors, and she tries to do her best to make her children get in to politics too. She is a traditional controlling mother and always wears designers’ clothes. She loves her family very much but sometimes is overly harsh when she scolds her kids.

  • TAEKO(72)／Haruko Michalon

    Saki’s grandmother. She has nurtured Saki as if she was her own daughter. Kind and warm-hearted, and she cares about Saki over anything else. Although she never scolds others she can be strict on Saki in order to discipline her.

  • MUSASHI(76)／Haruyoshi Nagumo

    Saki’s grandfather. He used to be a very successful politician but he resigned his position after he found about the Governmental cabal which controls all the media and the people who do not know what is really happening in the Diet. After that he officially started to campaign soon after he found out that his village was polluted by radioactivity, yet he has become sick from a heart attack. He feels lonely lately since he hasn’t seen Saki for years. Very kind but a bit stubborn.

  • YUTO(18)／Yuki Sahara

    Saki’s younger brother. He goes to one of the most famous high schools in Tokyo. He has been told that he could easily get into the University of Tokyo since he entered high school. Very honest and smart but he can sometimes annoy other people with his arrogance. He looks down on his sister who does not seem to be as brilliant as him. He has been on the path that his parents have organized. He just studies whenever he has spare time and he doesn’t know how fun it is to be crazy and let his hair down. He is secretly jealous of his sister.

  • TAKUYA(25)／Kenta Kiguchi

    Saki’s boyfriend. After graduating from Keio University, he successfully started a venture IT Company. Cool and quiet. He met Saki at a cultural festival at Keio university. Saki was attracted to his conversation skills. A typical playboy and he gradually has become bored with Saki lately.

  • MIHO(21)／Rino Momoyama

    She goes to the same university with Saki. “Paris Hilton” type of girl. She is in love with herself and self centered. She is very conscious about her appearance, and she always has her hair beautiful curled and wears a lot of make up. She is very opinionated and she doesn’t like to be interrupted.

  • YUKINA(21)／Yuki Sakurai

    A childhood friend of Saki’s . She was born in L.A. and she grew up in Beverly Hills. She is cheerful and always makes everyone happy and laugh. She can be silly in a good way.

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Crew(Partial Introduction)

  • Muga Miyahara - Director of Photography

    Born in Tokyo in 1971. Started his career as a freelance photographer in 1996. Worked for “Image” in 2001. Received a Mainichi Advertising Prize in 2005. One of the most famous photographers and videographers in Japan. Founder and CEO of “Muga Miyahara Fotografia”. Besides his commercial work, he constantly exhibits his artistic work in Tokyo, Milan, and Munich.

    ◯Music
    Mr. Children / Keisuke Kuwata / Hideaki Tokunaga / Arashi / Kumi Kouda / Southern All Stars / Tsuyoshi Doumoto, etc…
    ◯Advertisement
    Adidas / BMW / NTT DoCoMo / au / Softbank / SHARP / Takashimaya / Meiji, etc…
    ◯Magazine
    VOGUE / L'officiel / ATOMICA / Men's non-no / Zexy / FIGARO / ViVi / VOCE, etc…

    Website: http://www.mugamiyahara.com / http://www.muga.tv

  • Hajime Kanda - Camera Operator

    Born in Tokyo in 1973. He studied under Hideo Yamamoto and Hiroo Yanagida as an assistant camera man for Japanese famous films such as Godzilla. His first film as a camera operator was “Undertaker”.

    ◯Films
    Godzilla / The Magic Hour / Koizora / The Devotion of Suspect X / Amalfi: Rewards of the Goddess / Nodame Cantabile / White out, etc…

  • Naoyuki Hashimoto - Creative Director / Production Designer

    Studied under Misako Akamatsu and became independent as a production designer in 2004. His work includes set design, props and interior design. In addition to his commercial work for TV, advertising publicity and magazine, he also makes music videos and designs celebrity residences. In 2009 he expanded his career to include production and exhibition of photography and sculpture products.

    ◯Music Video
    Mr. Children / Every Little Thing / Yuzu / CRAZY KEN BAND / WORLD ORDER, etc…
    ◯TV Commercial
    Kanebo / NTT DoCoMo / Samsung / ROHTO / SONY, etc…
    ◯Advertisement
    KOSE / CANON / ISETAN / KONICA MINOLTA / AMERICAN EXPRESS, etc…

    Web : http://naoyuki-hashimoto.com/

  • Hiroto Kuwahara - Art Director

    Influenced by the French artist, Serge Lutens, his makeup style is composite art in a human being motif. He has started working with computer graphics in order to show his perspective of the world. He uses a variety of techniques to create texture in human skin, enhancing the person’s payxhological characteristics and back story. In 2003 he exhibited “Kaya” focused on Japan’s beauty.

    ○Exhibition / Awards
    MARVEL FUN CLUB Exhibition in Tokyo / KANPO STUDIO exhibition in NY / Ballhaus Nauuyn Exhibition in Berlin / COLORZOOM by GOLDWELL awarded a grand prix title in Japan and went in to the international competition as a Japanese representative.

    Web : http://www.zen-works.jp, http://www.rheators.com

  • Takenori Higashimoto - Gaffer

    Founded GO-SUNS in 2005 and become an independent gaffer in 2007.

    ◯Advertisement
    NTT DoCoMo / Shiseido / Daihatsu / Hitachi / Suntory / Lotte / Asahi / Tokyo Gas / KOSE, etc…

  • Yuko Takahara - Hair & Makeup Artist

    After graduating from Belle Harajuku, a cosmetology school, she studied under Naomasa Sato at B-side. Besides her career as a hair and makeup artist, she teaches at Belle Harajuku.

    ◯Advertisement
    Taisho holdings / Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company / ASAHI BREWERIES / Fuji-Q Highland / NTT DoCoMo, etc…
    ◯TV
    NHKBS「handsome table」 / ame talk, etc…

  • Elio Orsara - Executive Producer

    Elio was born on October 25, 1966, in Cetraro, a city located in the region of Calabria in the south of the Italian mainland. He first started working in the five-star Grand Hotel San Michele in Calabria. He furthered his training in Milan and London, took up cuisine and restaurant management in Spain and the U.S.A., then finally arrived in Japan. At the age of 30, a month after his marriage, Elio Orsara opened Elio Locanda Italiana in November 1996. Since then, the restaurant has become synonymous with authentic Italian fare that has a distinctive touch of the southern Italian cuisine and a staff renowned for its hospitality and smiling faces (legacies from Elio’s grandmother Luigina). Over the years Elio has also become the favourite dining spot of celebrities, including the giant of the fashion industry, Giorgio Armani.

    Web : http://www.elio.co.jp/

  • Hiroyuki Itaya - Supervisor

    PProfessor at Digital Hollywood University
    Music Video Director at Sony Music Entertainment(Japan) Inc.
    He is the pioneer of music video in Japan. Starting at Unicorn, he directed only the top artists in Japan including Tamio Okuda, Denki Groove, Shogo Hamada and Porno Graffiti.

    ○Awards and Exhibitions
    Montreux International Electronic Cinema Festival Award / Space Shower TV Grand-Prix Award / Hiroyuki Itaya Exhibition by Cultural Affairs Agency of Japan

  • Roman & Mike Zebik - Music Composer

    Roman and Mike Zebik are composers specializing in music composition, arrangement and orchestration for Film, TV and New Media.
    After graduating in Music and Popular Music Studies from the University Of Western Ontario, the father and son collaboration led to the creation of Roman's Music as a business platform for all their future music production. The team has worked on many award winning productions providing music composition and sound design services to: CHUM Television, WIFT International, Molson Canada, Maveric, Rogers, Shaw, LG Electronics, Garnier, NATO, General Motors, NFB Canada, Bravo, TLN, TFA, NHL, Sportsnet, CBC, NBC

    Web : http://www.romansmusic.ca

  • Garrett Schultz - Sound Designer

    From the suburbs of the Chicagoland region, Garrett Schultz is a multimedia sound designer/composer working in film/tv, web and video games. As a Columbia College alumnus with a BA in sound for film, he is growing in the artistic community. Always eager to learn and eager to please, Garrett is constantly working to build his audio repertoire.

    Web : http://www.cargocollective.com/garrettschultz

  • Hys - Theme Music

    The band was set up in 2012. The song was written and composed by Ryo Mashiro (key board), who also composes music for Shela, Exile, Naoki Umeda, AcQuA, and EP. SUDAPONY, the drummer from ROCKAMENCO is Japan’s most famous Stick Trick Drummer. Yoshirou Morita, the guitarist has received the grand prix at Guitar Magazine Contests. Megumi Furukawa, the vocalist, has received awards in many contests. Her debut single, “My way” took 2nd place on music distribution sites. Their motto is to make the R&B vibration more pop, and deliver their unique sound to as many as people as possible.

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Gallery

Production Photos

Poster

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