L’Illusion de Yakushima 
2025, 122 min.

prepremiere screening

Awards and Selections: Locarno Film Festival – Main Competition, Stockholm International Film Festival, Tofifest
Director: Naomi Kawase
Country: France, Japan, Belgium, Luxembourg

[IN-PERSON SCREENING]

A sensual, contemplative return by a master of Japanese cinema. Naomi Kawase combines the power of nature with an intimate study of loss, creating a tender story about escape and forgiveness.

Corry (Vicky Krieps), a French transplant coordinator, is trying to find her bearings in Japan. As she fights to save the life of a young patient, her partner disappears without a trace, joining a mysterious group of people who deliberately erase themselves from their former lives. Kawase leads viewers through the mist-shrouded forests of Yakushima, crafting a moving drama about the fleeting nature of presence and the healing power of nature.

In the Media

«The scenes in the children’s hospital and those depicting loss are the most moving.»
– Tomasz Barczak, Filmweb capsule review

«An extraordinarily sensual, contemplative journey through the world of Japanese nature.»
– Aurora Films, distributor’s description, watch the full video here 

«A story about love, loss, and the limits of responsibility, set between France and Japan.»
– BellaTOFIFEST festival description, read the full text here 

Naomi Kawase

One of the most important contemporary Japanese directors. The youngest recipient in history of the Caméra d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and winner of the Grand Prix for The Mourning Forest. Her work combines documentary techniques with poetic observations of nature.

Tags: drama, Japan, grief, disappearance, johatsu, nature, medicine, Naomi Kawase, Vicky Krieps