Philippine Independent Film Festival, an allied festival of EIGASAI since 2016, had a screening and panel discussion on issues surrounding LGBTQ, minorities, and the importance of inclusion last August 5 at Cinematheque Centre Manila. This is in collaboration with a project of the Japan Foundation Asia Center: EYES for Embracing Diversity, geared towards practitioners, researchers, and educators in the Southeast Asian regions and Japan who have been striving to create a diverse and inclusive society. This is co-organized by the Philippine LGBT Chamber of Commerce (PLCC), and the Film Development Council of the Philippines.
OF LOVE & LAW tells the hidden stories of people who are silenced and made invisible by Japanese society and its laws; fighting for justice and love. What does it mean to be a minority, to have a family and what it takes to be yourself in our increasingly polarized world?
This documentary is about contemporary Japanese society through the lives of people in challenging circumstances including LGBT individuals and those left out of Japan’s family registry system. Director Toda Hikaru, who has worked for many years in the US and Europe, depicts the lives of an openly gay couple who are lawyers. Kazu and Fumi are an openly gay couple who run a law office together in downtown Osaka. They met 15 years ago, and are inseparable in work at in their private lives, but their relationship is not recognized by the law. They both dream of being parents. One day, they find themselves caring for a boy with no place to go.
Film Festivals, Awards:
2017 Tokyo International Film Festival, Japanese Cinema Splash, Best Picture Award
Jeoff Solas 