Japan, 2026, 110 min., Japanese with English and Bulgarian subtitles, dir. Nao Yoshigai
Nao YOSHIGAI, who lost her mental and physical balance at 34, starts training at a Zen temple. Through Zen, she reexamines “eating,” “sleeping,” and “breathing,” viewing her body and mind as a “bag of flesh.” Inspired by Michizo Noguchi, founder of Noguchi Taiso (movement method), she sees the body as a skin bag of fluid—free to expand and contract—where bones, organs, and the brain float.
Screenwriter: Nao Yoshigai
DOP: Nao Yoshigai, Kaori Oda
Music: Masaya Kitada
Production: WHITE LEOTARDS
Director’s Biography:
Nao YOSHIGAI was born in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan in 1987. She graduated from the Department of Dance at Japan Women’s College of Physical Education and earned her Master’s at the Graduate School of Film and New Media at Tokyo University of the Arts. YOSHIGAI’s notable films include Shari (IFFR 2022), Grand Bouquet (Cannes Directors’ Fortnight 2019), and Hottamaru Days (Winner of the New Face Award, Entertainment Division, Japan Media Arts Festival).