Check out our festival lineup here! The tickets for these screenings are limited and only for attendees in the US.

ANYTIME SCREENING 🎬

This event is free and open to the public, however registration through Eventbrite is required in order to receive information on how to access the virtual screening via email.

After receiving streaming info via email or Eventbrite on Friday, January 22 at 7:00 PM EST, you will have exactly 72 hours to watch. The code and link will expire after the screening ends.

Please note: a Vimeo account will be needed for this screening.

J-Film: True Mothers | 朝が来る

Presented by the Japan Information & Culture Center, Embassy of Japan and Japan Commerce Association of Washington, D.C., Inc.

Happy New Year from the JICC!

"Kawase's best film in years..."

— Mina Takla, Awards Watch

"...A thoughtful drama about the shame associated with unconventional motherhood."

— Alex Heeney, Seventh Row

Japan's Official Submission to the Academy Awards

After a long and unsuccessful struggle to get pregnant, Satoko and her husband decide to adopt a child. Over the next six years, the middle-class couple and their young son Asato settle into a comfortable, albeit routine, life.

The family’s orderly existence is shattered by the arrival of Hikari, a young woman claiming to be Asato’s biological mother, demanding his return. As tensions mount, Satoko grows more and more emboldened to defend her family.

Weaving together multiple timelines and genres with a contemplative pacing and keen sense of place, hallmarks of Kawase’s work, True Mothers is “is a deeply touching celebration of women who assume duties of love, support and compassion” (Awards Watch).

Starring Nagasaku Hiromi, Iura Arata, Makita Aju, and Sato Reo

In Japanese with English subtitles | Not Rated | 2020 | 140 min | Directed by Kawase Naomi

STREAMING GUIDE 💻

Need help with streaming the film on a bigger screen? Check out our streaming guide here.