7.22 (Tue) Competition
Together Up There
- Onsite
- 7.22 (Tue) 10:30 Audio Visual Hall
©2025「そこまで一緒に。」関寛之
Director: Hiroyuki SEKI
Cast: Megumi IGARASHI, Masahiro TODA, Kouji KATO, Kanon KOBAYASHI, Tsutomu KAKIZAWA, Mizuki KAKIZAWA
2025 / Japan / 35min.
The two, dressed in hiking gear, set out for the mountain they once visited on their honeymoon. Though they appear to be a married couple, their relationship holds a hidden truth. Surrounded by clear skies and mountainous scenery, their journey quietly weaves together memory and reality, love and responsibility. The film meticulously portrays the gradual struggle of a person pushed to the edge by the difficulties of caregiving—an extension of everyday life—and the harshness of social systems through a carefully crafted narrative and serene direction. In the final act, a simple exchange over a single rice cracker releases a flood of raw emotion. Written, directed, and edited by Hiroyuki Seki, whose independently produced short film Moshikuha, won the FUKUI-EKIMAE Award at the 2021 FUKUI-EKIMAE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, this work promises great things to come. Against the backdrop of expansive landscapes contrasting with limited time, the film leaves viewers with a heavy, lingering question. This screening marks the world premiere at this film festival.
Director: Hiroyuki SEKI
In the fall of 2019, Seki enrolled in a film school, hoping to study filmmaking. However, just six months later, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and all classes and graduation projects came to a halt. In 2021, his independently produced short film Moshikuha, won the FUKUI-EKIMAE Award at the FUKUI-EKIMAE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL. As part of the prize, he created another short film titled Fu, set in the city of Fukui, in September 2022.
Message
“Here, have a mandarin orange”.
When I was in elementary school,
I’d visit my grandmother’s bedroom, and she would grab her orange-colored comforter with both hands and hold it out to me.
Did you know that in 2024, the number of people who went missing due to dementia hit a record high, and that by 2025, one in five people over 65 will have dementia?
“This is really good”, she’d say with delight as she peeled the comforter like an orange just for me.
Now that I’m an adult,
I still don’t know what was inside that orange.
