Silence and (dis) connection | Film Screening: Katatsumori
Session 1: 08 PM, Fri 17 Apr 2026
Session 2: 08 PM, Sun 19 Apr 2026
White Light Cinéhub
Floor 3, COMPLEX 01
29/31/167 Tây Sơn, Hà Nội
Registration link (each registration is for 01 guest only)
From the organizer:
Two years after “Embracing” (1992), Kawase Naomi films the everyday life with her grandma (adopted mother). The heart-warming pictures described through the growth of peas captures the audience’s mind.
KATATSUMORI | かたつもり(P)
Naomi Kawase, 1994
Duration: 40’
Genre: Documentary
Language: Japanese with Vietnamese and English subtitles
In the early stage of her career, before gaining international acclaim for her fictional features, director Naomi Kawase, armed with little more than a handheld 8mm camera, crafted a series of profoundly autobiographical documentaries. In these works, the act of filmmaking becomes a visceral, almost instinctual way of engaging with the world; it is simultaneously a registry of the self’s most hidden, intimate tremors, and an urgent attempt to hold onto the most fragile and familiar of things before time sweeps them away.
In Katatsumori, Kawase’s adoptive grandmother, Uno, who raised her from infancy after her parents abandoned her, permeates nearly every frame, her presence further anchored by her anecdotal voice. Kawase captures her grandmother through the quiet poetry of the mundane, particularly as she tends to her small garden. Yet, rather than observing from a safe, detached distance, Kawase frequently presses the lens right against her face in extreme close-ups, as if seeking to dissolve, if only for a fleeting moment, the boundary between filmmaker and subject. The raw, tactile 8mm footage, awash in natural sunlight, exudes an uncanny intimacy, as though we were witnessing the luminous projection of memory itself, a testament to the purest form of love.
Tăng Linh
About Silence and (dis) connection:
Silence and (dis) connection is the outcome of An Open Draft – Asia Film Programmers Lab, an initiative launched by the Japan Foundation. Alongside its aim to promote cultural exchange through cinema, the project also seeks to nurture a new generation of film curators and programmers in Southeast Asia and Japan.
Centered on family, the program presents five films spanning several decades of Japanese society. Across these films run a series of averted gazes, unspoken words, and quiet distances that shape human relationships. Yet, it is often within these fractures that the possibility of reconnection emerges.
Note:
– Registration is limited to 36 audience. You will receive a confirmation email within 24 hours of completing registration. Please check your spam folder or contact the White Light Cinéhub Facebook page if you don’t receive it.
– Doors open 30 minutes before showtime for seating and drink selection. Late entry is accepted up to 15 minutes after the screening begins. Please arrive on time for the best experience.
– No outside food or drinks are permitted.
– By attending, guests consent to being photographed and quoted by the project for promotional purposes.
– Coupons are non-transferable and may not be resold under any circumstances.
– If you are unable to attend after registering, please inform us at least 72 hours in advance for refund and to allow your seat to be offered to another guest.
Silence and (dis) connection, organized by White Light Cinéhub with the sponsorship of the Japan Foundation and the media support of COMPLEX 01 and Hanoi Grapevine, introduces 05 selected films with theme of family in Japanese society from the 1950s to the present. The program includes film screenings and conversations, taking place from April 3 to May 3, 2026 at White Light Cinéhub (29/31/167 Tây Sơn, Hanoi).
Follow updates on event’s page.
