LET IT BE: PROGRESS
《Overview》
This film was conceived, planned, produced, and stars Misaki Mizumura, an actor. While exploring the challenges of realizing dreams and manifesting an ideal life, the story captures the journey of each character as they authentically grow and shine, reflecting the personal struggles and longstanding aspirations of the creator. Sometimes, we may feel envious or lose
confidence from comparing ourselves to others. The goal of this film is to deliver a story that inspires courage and hope to all who resonate with such emotions, encouraging them to boldly move forward as their true selves.
《Synopsis》
Kyoka, a mother striving to become an actress while raising her children, experiences the difficulties of balancing motherhood and dreams but continues to persevere. Mako, who keeps
pursuing her career as an actress even at the cost of marriage and childbirth, sometimes feels a sense of loneliness when she finds herself alone. Mina, an assistant director with dreams of
becoming a film director, struggles to create her own works as a female director. These three women are drawn to each other and embark on a journey to carve out new paths using their
own strengths.
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Yurugu MatsumotoDirector
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Yoshika KuwaeWriter
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Misaki MizumuraProducer
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Misaki MizumuraKey Cast"Kyoka Izumi"
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Satomi YagihashiKey Cast"Mako Nakamura"
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Remi TyonKey Cast"Mina Asai"
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Shintaro YuyaKey Cast"Takashi Onomichi"
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Hirofumi SuzukiKey Cast"Toshiaki Terui"
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Kosuke IwanagaKey Cast"Kiyoshi Miura"
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Mai AsukaKey Cast"Eri Momose"
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Kenta OikawaKey Cast"Kosuke Izumi"
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Eita KinoshitaKey Cast"Souta Izumi"
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Youichi JeanKey Cast"Masato Fujita"
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Futoshi ImataniKey Cast"Shohei Shibuya"
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Hiroaki KawatsureKey Cast"Shunji Takano"
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Shinichi YoshidaKey Cast"Mikio Todoroki"
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Yukari UchiyamaKey Cast"Ayumi Tabe"
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Umi KurahashiKey Cast"Risa Takahashi"
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Tsukie KiyonariKey Cast"Rin Morisaki"
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Project Title (Original Language):ARINOMAMADESUSUME
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Project Type:Feature
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Runtime:1 hour 32 minutes
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Completion Date:August 1, 2023
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Production Budget:5,000,000 JPY
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Country of Origin:Japan
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Country of Filming:Japan
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Language:Japanese
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Shooting Format:Digital,4K,FUJIFILM
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Aspect Ratio:Cinema Scope
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
<Biography>
Born 1969, Tachikawa City, Tokyo, Japan. In the 1990s, Matsumoto started making his own 8mm films while a student at the Image Forum Institute of the Moving Image. He later began working as a freelance assistant director in commercial, studio filmmaking and served under such directors as Takashi Ishii, Takashi Yamazaki, Yoshihiro Nakamura, Hitoshi Yazaki, Banmei Takahashi, and Shinsuke Sato. His last film as assistant director was Nobuhiko Obayashi's HANAGATAMI. Now, Matsumoto focuses on directing his own work, mainly documentary TV dramas, as well as his passion for independent shorts. Many of Matsumoto's shorts have been nominated and won awards at numerous film festivals. PAY PHONE won the Japan Competition Best Actor Award at Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2018, which is an Academy Awards accredited festival and one of the biggest short film festivals in Asia. The film also won Best Narrative Short at Kansas City FilmFest International 2020, a festival with a quarter-century of history. It has been screened at over sixty national and international film festivals, winning 20 awards. including five Grands Prix. Cassette Tape, the sequel to PAY PHONE, premiered at the 6th Hachioji Short Film Festival where it won both the Grand Prix and Audience Award. After that, it won Grand Prix and Best Actress at the 23rd Yokohama Visual Entertainment Festival, making Matsumoto the very first director to win Grands Prix there four years in a row.
From pop idol vehicles to socially aware melodramas, Matsumoto has directed a wide range of film productions. His VIRGIN BREEZE, a short he wrote and directed for the Japanese pop idol girl band Nogizaka 46, won significant critical acclaim. Meanwhile, Matsumoto's feature-length TALKING TO THE STARRY SKY is based on the true stories of people with disabilities and their supporters and sheds light on their forgotten experiences following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The movie won an encouragement award from the highly authoritative 37th Japan Film Revitalization Committee.
Matsumoto's screenplay for TSUREZURE was nominated in the synopsis competition at the 3rd MPA/DHU Film Workshop. Carlos Saldanha (known for his Ice Age: The Meltdown, Rio, etc.) highly commended it. The same project also advanced to the final stage at the Sundance Institute/NHK Award 2017, where it was selected as one of the top nine screenplays.
In his hometown of Tachikawa City, Matsumoto actively contributes to film culture as a teacher in his local "Moviemaking Workshop" and as a judge for the Tachikawa Meigazadori Cinema Festival.