Leaving on the 15th Spring (2013)

Yuna lives on a remote Ryukyu island in Japan dividing her time between studies and tending the home for her father, a stoic sugar cane farmer. For reasons unknown to Yuna, her father has been ostracized by the rest of his family. Like generations before her, Yuna will move to the big island of Okinawa to finish her education, but before she leaves she must lead her traditional music circle in a farewell concert. In her stirring portrayal of Yuna, accomplished pop and television star, Miyoshi Ayaka sings and plays the sanmisen, a traditional Japanese stringed instrument. Director Yoshida has worked closely with the locals of Minamodaito to craft a sensitive and poignant impression of a young girl on the cusp of adulthood, torn between the alternately attractive and conflicting natures of tradition and progress.

• broken family
• coming of age
• drama
• slice of life