DeadLine

Hajime Hirata, a consul at the Consulate-General of Japan in Busan, is forced to talk about his newborn daughter.
As he speaks, the truth of his situation gradually comes to light.
The final 26 seconds that divide life and death.

  • Tetsuji Muraoka
    Director
  • Tetsuji Muraoka
    Writer
  • Tetsuji Muraoka
    Editor
  • Tetsuji Muraoka
    Producer
  • Tetsuji Muraoka
    Key Cast
  • Toshiki Hirose
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    DeadLine
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Thriller, Psychological
  • Runtime:
    46 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 11, 2026
  • Production Budget:
    300 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Japan
  • Country of Filming:
    South Korea
  • Language:
    Japanese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Tetsuji Muraoka

Actor / Filmmaker.
Born in Yamanashi, Japan in 1985, Tetsuji Muraoka received a Ph.D. in Arts and Sciences
from Tohoku University in 2017. After completing the acting training program at the New
National Theatre, Tokyo, he joined Victor Music Arts and has worked across stage and screen.
Since 2020, he has led the family-based creative unit “The Expressive Muraoka Family,”
producing moving image works centered on his own family. His works explore identity,
memory, family relationships, and contemporary communication through experimental
narrative forms.
Working across writing, directing, editing, and performance, his films have been screened
internationally at film festivals and art-oriented programs.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

DeadLine is a 26-second short film about what lies beyond the limits of institutions.

Both fathers are trying to protect their families. Yet one is bound by the system, while the other is consumed by anger.

Within just 26 seconds, I wanted the audience to experience a gradual shift in perception—not through explanation, but through the unfolding of the image itself.

I hope this film encourages viewers to reflect on the fragile boundary between prayer and anger that exists closer to us than we might think.