17-year-old Sarya has lived in Japan since she was five. It seemed easier to tell her friends that she was originally from Germany, though she and her family are actually Kurdish refugees from Turkey. But now all their troubles seem to be a thing of the past. Sarya is doing well at school, she has friends and there is even a boy in the picture, Sato, for whom she has special feelings. Nothing seems to stand in the way of a normal life, until one day her father’s residence permit is revoked. This has enormous consequences.
For many years debuting director Emma Kawawada has served as assistant director to Hirokazu Kore-eda, the famous Japanese director whose films almost always revolve around the ups and downs of families. In this coming-of-age story, written by herself, Kawawada zooms in on family relationships as well, but links them to topics rarely discussed in Japanese cinema: immigration issues and racism.
