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Absence haunts the streets of Masaya Takahashi’s Maebashi City: as absent as the rains are during the apex of summer is the nurturing essence of humanity. Parched of comfort and joy, the inhabitants, so jaded by circumstance and experience, find their ability to thrive has diminished beyond comprehension; instead, fear from just a knock on the door flourishes where little else can. Yet there exists a responsibility to keep up appearances so those whose innocence remains intact are not doomed to follow those same footsteps. Based on Mitsuru Kawabayashi’s 1990 novel of the same name, Takahashi’s ‘Dry Spell’ explores the insurmountable hardships of growing older amidst the harsh realities of a world plundering itself of human decency. Thirty years after the novel’s publication, its examination of poverty, especially amongst children, remains as true and as poignant as ever.

Dry Spell is screening at Camera Japan

Bearing the...

Chicago, Il – Asian Pop-Up Cinema (Apuc) announces its upcoming Season 17 lineup, running between September 8 and October 7 in Chicago. For the first time, this year's programming will include film selections from Mongolia, Iran and Afghanistan, along with entries from Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and more. This season's special guests attending with their films include Amarsaikhan Baljinnyham, Ben Yuen, Dornaz Hajiha, Lawrence Kan, Lee Won Suk, Ng Siu Hin, Park Dong-Hee, Rachel Leung, Roya Sadat and Wong You Nam. South Korean actor Lee Sun-Kyun will be Apuc's Excellent Achievement in Film Award recipient and will receive his award before the feature presentation of closing night film Killing Romance.

Apuc's Season 17 opens with a screening of director Masayuki Suzuki's Yudo, following architect Shiro Miura's (Toma Ikuta) attempts to modernize his outdated public bathhouse family business. As he immerses himself in the new role, Shiro connects with customers and begins to...