HAUNTED BY RECURRING APPARITIONS, A YOUNG GIRL EMBARKS ON A SUPERNATURAL JOURNEY TO A TSUNAMI-RAVAGED JAPAN IN SEARCH OF HER MOTHER IN THIS POIGNANT DRAMA ABOUT LOVE AND LOSS
THE NEW DIRECTOR’S AWARD-NOMINEE AT SAN SEBASTIAN MAKES ITS NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE ON SVOD SERVICE INDIEPIX UNLIMITED ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2024
SYNOPSIS
Haunted by recurring apparitions, sixteen-year-old Ami (Mihaya Shirata) embarks on a supernatural journey from Singapore to Japan in search of her mother who went missing during a cataclysmic tsunami. Upon her arrival in Tokyo, she meets Isamu (Masatoshi Nagase), her cynical taxi-driving uncle, who becomes her custodian and reluctant guide through the ravaged landscape and her family’s dark past.
Set against the aftermath of the 2011 Tohoku tsunami and shot mostly in Rikuzentakata, a city almost wiped out during the tsunami, LAST SHADOW AT FIRST LIGHT is a “post-apocalyptic story of survivors’ trauma” (The Film Verdict) that reckons with lingering family trauma. The feature film debut from writer/director Nicole Midori Woodford had its world premiere in the New Directors section of the San Sebastian Film Festival, where it was nominated for the New Director’s Award.
SELECT FESTIVALS/AWARDS
Asian Film Awards (2024) | Nominee, Best Supporting Actress (Mariko Tsutsui) & Best Newcomer (Mihaya Shirata)
San Sebastian Int’l Film Festival (2023) | Nominee, New Director’s Award
Singapore International Film Festival (2023) | Nominee, Best Asian Feature Film
Asia Pacific Screen Awards (2023) | Nominee, Best Screenplay & Best Performance (Mihaya Shirata)
Pingayo International Film Festival (2023) | Nominee, Best Film
LAST SHADOW AT FIRST LIGHT (2023)
Written & Directed by: Nicole Midori Woodford
Cast: Masatoshi Nagase, Mihaya Shirata, Mariko Tsutsui, Peter Yu
Produced by: Liza Diño, Tomohiko Seki
Cinematography by: Hideho Urata
Genre: World Cinema/Drama
RT: 107 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1:85:1
Sound: Dolby Digtal
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles
