APM - Asian Project Market

 

Back to list Chokolietta (aka Chocolietta)

Director’s Profile

Kazama was born in 1966 in Saitama prefecture, Japan. As a high school senior, she directed an 8mm short film "Zero×Zero" (1984), the first winner of Pia Film Festival Scholarship Prize. Her next film "Imitation, Interior" (1985) was a 45-minute film short in 16mm, which was invited at the Turin International Festival. Her first feature "Melodies" (1989) shot on 8mm was released to theaters across Japan, with success. "How Old Is The River?" (1994), the Tiger Award winner at 1995 Rotterdam Film Festival, was shown at numerous film festivals around the world. "The Mars Canon" (2000) was invited by 2002 Berlin International Film Festival and received the Asia Film Award at 2011 Tokyo International Film Festival. "World’s End/Girl Friend" (2004), digitally shot, was also invited by many film festivals.

Synopsis

When Chiyoko was a small girl, her mother used to call her “Chocolietta”. It was because her mother’s favorite actress was Giulietta Masina. At the age of 5, Chiyoko’s mother dies in a car accident. Ever since then, Chiyoko closes herself within. The only one she can reveal her true self is her dog, Giulietta, with whom she grew up. Unable to accept the grief of losing her mother, she believes that she is a dog and decides to keep a distance from the human world. But Giulietta passes away when she is 16. Chiyoko begins to think of death. In high school, Chiyoko is a member of the Film Studies Club, which has fairly long tradition for a high school club. One day, she borrows Fellini’s La Strada from Masamune Masaoka, a graduate of the club. The film was a favorite of her mother’s. Chiyoko talks to Masamune for the first time. Masamune failed his entrance exams for colleges, and is studying for them again. He boasts that he’s going to be in the same state for the rest of his life. When Chiyoko tells him that she wants to die, Masamune answers, “I’ve thought of killing people.” Masamune has the same kind of despair that Chiyoko has. There was something about him that attracted her. Since Giulietta’s death, the only one who understood Chiyoko was her young aunt Kiriko. But Kiriko is thinking of getting married. Because of this, Chiyoko wants to stay away from home too. She starts escaping reality again. At school, she writes, “Future dream: to become a dog” on a printout that asks about her future plans. But soon she learns that a couple of decades ago her mother was in the Film Studies Club too. A film starring her mother was left in the club’s storage room. Masamune suggests Chiyoko to make a film together. Like in Fellini’s film, La Strada, which was her mother’s favorite film, they decide to ride a bike and travel far for location. Meeting Masamune and encountering films changes Chiyoko. She wanted to become a dog, but now she`s trying to become a human. Another element that links Chiyoko to the world is films. Even if people die, films remain. “Films are eternal,” the words said cheerfully by the manager of the Film Studies Club stays with her. Chiyoko looks into the camera’s viewfinder, actively trying to communicate with the outside world. Chiyoko’s soul starts living again.

Achievements

2014 Tokyo International Film Festival
2015 Goteborg Film Festival
2015 Hong Kong International Film Festival

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