Private Project

[MADO]

Starring Masahiko Nishimura, "MADO(Window)" is an extremely closed, socially conscious drama based on a true story of the actual court case known as “Yokohama Secondhand Smoke Trial" in Japan, This is the first feature film directed by a successful commercial director, Mao. Being a son of the plaintiff, he had a great passion for tackling this sensitive issue caused by chemical sensitivities.
It’s also written by Ma＊To, who is Mao’s father and the defendant of the trial.

Family "A" lives in a suburban apartment complex in Japan.
Since February 2016, the A's have been suffering from cigarette smoke pollution coming from the apartment of family "B", who live downstairs.
They received a medical certificate from their doctor stating that their daughter had developed "multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS)", and a lawsuit against B for 45 million yen was initiated.

The plaintiffs "A", a family of 3 left behind by society due to isolation and loneliness, and
defendants "B", who are in a different position, with a different way of perceiving and accepting the situation.
Through each perspective, the film depicts the various problems and divisions caused by "chemical hypersensitivity".

  • MAO
    Director
    MAO
  • MAO
    Writer
    MAO
  • Masaki Fujimura
    Producer
    Masaki Fujimura
  • Masahiko Nishimura
    Key Cast
    "Mr.A"
    Masahiko Nishimura
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    [窓]MADO
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 22 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 5, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    15,000,000 JPY
  • Country of Origin:
    Japan
  • Country of Filming:
    Japan
  • Language:
    Japanese
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, Blackmagic
  • Aspect Ratio:
    4:3
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • YUBARI INTERNATIONAL FANTASTIC FILM FESTIBAL 2023
    YUBARI, Hokkaido
    Japan
    June 30, 2023
    Official Selection
  • BonDance International Film Festival 2023
    Saga
    Japan
    September 17, 2023
    Finalist
Director Biography - MAO

MAO
Film director. Commercial film director.
Graduated from the Department of Design, Tokyo University of the Arts.
2012 Joined Tohokushinsha and studied under Shinya Nakajima.
2014 Director debut.
2020 freelance independence.
He makes films on the theme of love and laugh.
And this movie is his feature film directorial debut.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

[MADO] means [window] in japanese.

In 2017, my father, who happened to smoke only a couple of cigarettes a day in his sound-proofed room, was sued by our neighbors ( a father, a mother and a daughter) for 45 million yen($313,288) in damages.

In this movie, I describe the plaintiffs as As, and my family, with my father being the defendant, as Bs.
A’s claim was that they were dignosed with Passive Smoking Syndrome and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

Among all the secondhand-smoke lawsuits in Japan, the amount of compensatory damages for this case was by far the largest.
After all these 5 years of struggle, this lawsuit has become controversial.

Although I’ve been living away from home, I’ve been watching the circumstances from a close distance.
I was also doing my own research on chemical sensitivity and tackling the problem in my own way.

Then I realized there are some important keywords involved in relation to triggering symptoms of chemical sensitivity : the power to coneive and the power to believe.

And by having read the real diary submitted to the court, which the father was keeping over 4 years, I was able to see their loneliness, their sadness, and their strong feeling of caring one another.

The life that I imagined they had was devastating and so dramatic.

Therefore, I want to make a movie from the perspective of the A family.

I came to think that way.

I think that humans can only perceive things through their own subjective points of view.

Cognition is subjective, and subjectivity creates drama.

I want to convey the overwhelming danger of human "power to think and believe," which is so great at the same time.

I would like to look at the problems caused by chemical sensitivity through each subjective view of A and B families.

What will it look like when the audience sees it?

I wanted to make a film that would make the audience question their ways of seeing things.

What do you see when you watch this movie?
What exactly causes chemical sensitivities?