Japan Gaua: Visitors + Sana

Border (2023). Mai Nakanishi. Japan. 5 min

A woman turns on the tv to watch a Korean drama but soon realizes that she may be the one being watched.

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Visitors – Complete Edition (2023). Japan. 61 min

• Direction: Kenichi Ugana.
• Production: Atsushi Takahashi, Keisuke Nomura, WATANABE.
• Screenplay: Kenichi Ugana.
• Photography: Masashi Komino.
• Music: ILA MORF OEL, Keefar.
• Edition: Masashi Komino.
• Cast: Shiho, Keisuke Nomura, Saki Hirai, Haruki Itabashi, Ryuta Endo, Kento Miura, Lloyd Kaufman.

It is a pleasure to introduce you (those of you who have not yet collided with his masterpieces) to KenIchi Ugana. The actor moved behind the camera in 2008, directing Screeeam (sic). Thanks to a completely crazy audience, who just now awarded him the prize at the Romford Festival for The Empty Flowerpot (2022) and his production company, which quite understandably is named Vandalism. Ugana in fact studied Business Management, but as soon he picked up a 4K and some lenses, he was hooked. Visitors, which has a pulsating soundtrack with a fundamental role in the narrative sequence, courtesy of ¡OEL MORF ILA! (sic), started out as a 16-minute short. Extended to 61, it has swept the board. Rightly so. It's toxic. It's tromic. War has broken out between humans and zombie/alien monsters. Guess who the good guys are.

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Sana / Mina no Uta (2023). Japan. 102 min

• Direction: Takashi Shimizu.
• Production: Satoko Ishida, Yuichi Kamoi, Takashi Oba.
• Screenplay: Rumi Kakuta, Takashi Shimizu.
• Music: Yurie Minakata, Utena Kobayashi.
• Cast: Akari Hayami, Tomoko Hoshi, Alan Shirayama, Ryota Katayose, Hayato Komori, Reo Sano, Mandy Sekiguchi, Yuta Nakatsuka, Ryuto Kazuhara.

Millennia of honour and glory to Takashi Shimizu,creator of the Ju-on collection. Honour and glory until hell vanquishes light for his film Sana, which of course recalls similarities with Nakata's outstanding Ringu (1998). This time it is a cassette, one of those K7s featured in the soundtrack of films such as Mission to Mars (2022) or that provide the sound for the latest Wenders, which will induce the horror, disappearance and madness of various members of a Japanese pop group. Of course there are schoolgirls. With pleated skirts, white socks and pinafore dresses. Of course there are ghosts. Of course someone will fall off the top of the building. But you should also make sure you keep and eye on the detective who turns it all around.