2023
Aichi International Women’s Film Festival (AIWFF)
Featured Film: I Quit Being “Friends” (2020)
Dir. IMAMURA Ayako
KIMATA Junji
The Aichi International Women's Film Festival, which began in 1996, is a film festival that primarily focuses on showcasing films directed by women. It aims to promote the realization of a society with gender equality by screening films on various themes, including women's lifestyles and mutual understanding between women and men. Through guest talks and other activities, the festival encourages attendees to contemplate the state of society and its future direction. It is the only international film festival in the Chubu region and the only women's film festival in Japan.
Comment from AIWFF’s Director, KIMATA Junji
IMAMURA Ayako is a film director based in Nagoya who perseveres through hearing impairment. She explores the theme of her own hearing impairment through a form of documentary, depicting her interactions with others. Her fourth feature film, I Quit Being “Friends” portrays her daily interactions with HAYASHI Masayo, who has Asperger's syndrome. Asperger's syndrome is characterized by difficulties empathizing with others and a tendency to be perceived as self-centered. During the filming process, Imamura is perplexed by Hayashi's self-centeredness. The perspective of Imamura, who is typically part of a minority, becoming the majority in terms of having a "normal brain" from Hayashi's point of view, provides a fresh discovery.
KiMATA has been involved in the film industry since the inception of the Cinema Score movie theater in Nagoya, which was established by director WAKAMATSU Koji in 1983. Initially serving as a manager, he became the representative in 2008. In 2020, he founded the film school "Score Film School." He has also been the director of the Aichi International Women's Film Festival since its first edition in 1996.