Ishikawa Hiroshi Returns After 13 Years With 'The Blue We Touch'

Ishikawa Hiroshi ends a 13-year feature hiatus with "the blue we touch" ("Awo no Jo"), which Bitters End will release in Japan in 2027. The company unveiled the project ahead of the Tokyo International Film Festival's TIFFCOM market. The film is currently in post-production.

Ishikawa directs, writes and edits. His last feature was 2013's "Petal Dance." Before that came "Tokyo.sora" (2002) and "Su-ki-da." (2006), which earned him best director at the New Montreal FilmFest. He began as an award-winning commercials director. His films are known for careful handling of color and a feel for the mood of ordinary days.

Who's in the cast?

The ensemble drama follows two former friends and the hard-to-name feelings that pass between people. Nao plays Mitsu, 29, a contract web designer who wants a permanent job and work that connects with an audience. She's drawn to Fujino (Nakajima Ayumu), who runs HR at her firm, and slowly shares grievances she has kept quiet for a long time.

Karata Erika plays Ayane, who works nights while preparing for a career as a public prosecutor. She crosses paths with Tomoki (Aoki Yuzu), an art student who can't get his figure drawing right, and agrees to sit for him as a model. The arrangement opens up Tomoki's work. Ayane, in turn, finds her way back to memories she treasures.

Nakano Arisa, who made her screen debut in Wim Wenders' "Perfect Days," plays Nozomi, a classmate of Tomoki's who watches him change up close.

The cast's credits stack up. Nao appeared in "The Last 10 Years" and "Sensei's Pious Lie." Karata's films include "Asako I & II," "Desert of Namibia" and Netflix's "The Queen of Villains." Nakajima has done TBS' "Until the T-Shirt Dries," "Happyend" and "Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy." Aoki's résumé lists "5 Centimeters per Second," "Blue Lock" and "Minamata."

What does Bitters End bring to the release?

Bitters End has operated for more than three decades. Its Japanese releases include films by Hamaguchi Ryusuke, Bong Joon-ho, the Dardenne brothers, Jia Zhangke, Roy Andersson and Gianfranco Rosi. Recent titles: "Below the Clouds," "Young Mothers" and "The Odyssey."

On production, the company's credits include Oscar winner "Drive My Car" and Locarno Golden Leopard recipient "Two Seasons, Two Strangers." This year, "All of a Sudden" — a Cannes prize winner and Japan's Oscar submission for international feature — played in competition, while "All the Lovers in the Night" made the Un Certain Regard lineup at Cannes.

Bitters End is now growing its international sales operation. "In My Father's Room" competed at San Sebastián, taking the Fipresci Prize and the Ateneo Guipuzcoano Award.

A director who took 13 years off, returning via a distributor with an Oscar and a Golden Leopard on its shelf. That combination should keep festival programmers watching through 2027.