Italy & Japan
Brief discussions following each evening’s screenings will compare and contrast the films and the topics with several panelists.
Dr. Stefania Lucamante - Ordinary Professor of Italian and Comparative Literature, Catholic University of America
Dr. Anri Yasuda - Assistant Professor of Japanese Language and Literature, George Washington University
The discussion will be moderated by Barbara Valentino, Principal and Founder of Evolving Communications.
All films are subtitled in English, unless otherwise noted.
Japan Information and Culture Center, Embassy of Japan
1150 18th St. NW
Washington, DC 20036
Beautiful (Bellissima)
Italy, 2015, 10 min.
Director: Alessandro Capitani
Veronica is twenty years old and is imprisoned in a huge body. During a disco party she suffers the joke of a boy. Desperate, Veronica hides in a club bathrooms believing that inside no one else can see her. The fate, however, has in store a pleasant surprise for her.
Arianna
Italy, 2017, 13 min.
Director: David Ambrosini
Arianna, a young and brilliant transexual lawyer is ready to deal with an interview for the job she desires. Now, after a long self-acceptation path, the only thing she needs is a job that would permit her to be independent and have a normal life.
okaasan (mom)
Japan, 2018, 18 min.
Director: Kana Hatakeyama
After the loss of a beloved family member, a daughter returns from far away to her mother's home in Japan; mother and daughter attempt to work past the guilt and distance in order to reconnect, each in their own ways.
Ping Pang
Japan, 2016, 15 min.
Director: Yoichi Tanaka
Everyday a woman feverishly practices ping pong by herself. She play ping pong to distract herself from the reality of her life which includes the occasional sexual harrasment at work. A chance encounter one night slowly begins to change her world.
