Kanako Higashi

Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (2014)

Frustrated with her mundane life, a Tokyo office worker becomes obsessed with a fictional movie that she mistakes for a documentary. Fixating on a scene where stolen cash is buried in North Dakota, she travels to America to find it.  (more)

DIRECTION:  David Zellner
CAST:  Rinko Kikuchi  •  Nobuyuki Katsube  •  Shirley Venard  •  David Zellner

Frustrated with her mundane life, a Tokyo office worker becomes obsessed with a fictional movie that she mistakes for a documentary. Fixating on a scene where stolen cash is buried in North Dakota, she travels to America to find it.  (more)

DIRECTION:  David Zellner
CAST:  Rinko Kikuchi  •  Nobuyuki Katsube  •  Shirley Venard  •  David Zellner

Petrel Hotel Blue (2012)

Seeking to exact revenge upon Yoji, Yukio travels to an area surrounded by the sea, desert and lava topped mountains. There, Yukio meets mysterious Rika and becomes enchanted by her presence. While, Yukio can't get Rika out of his mind, he faces off against ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Kōji Wakamatsu
CAST:  Kanako Higashi  •  Hiromasa Hirosue  •  Go Jibiki  •  Hitomi Katayama

Seeking to exact revenge upon Yoji, Yukio travels to an area surrounded by the sea, desert and lava topped mountains. There, Yukio meets mysterious Rika and becomes enchanted by her presence. While, Yukio can't get Rika out of his mind, he faces off against ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Kōji Wakamatsu
CAST:  Kanako Higashi  •  Hiromasa Hirosue  •  Go Jibiki  •  Hitomi Katayama

The Vancouver Asahi (2014)

In pre-WWII Vancouver, second-generation Japanese immigrants had it tough. Daily, they faced discrimination, hatred and injustice at the hands of their Caucasian counterparts. But one thing made their lives worth living: baseball. They may be the underdogs, but the ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yuya Ishii
CAST:  Satoshi Tsumabuki  •  Kazuya Kamenashi  •  Ryo Katsuji  •  Yusuke Kamiji

In pre-WWII Vancouver, second-generation Japanese immigrants had it tough. Daily, they faced discrimination, hatred and injustice at the hands of their Caucasian counterparts. But one thing made their lives worth living: baseball. They may be the underdogs, but the ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yuya Ishii
CAST:  Satoshi Tsumabuki  •  Kazuya Kamenashi  •  Ryo Katsuji  •  Yusuke Kamiji

Genkai in a Black Company (2009)

After the death of this mother, Masao Oneta (Teppei Koike) decides to leave the comfort of his room after years of self isolation and get a job. He lands a position at a small IT firm but doesn't yet realise this company is one of many 'black companies', known for ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yuichi Satoh
CAST:  Teppei Koike  •  Maiko  •  Seiichi Tanabe  •  Hiroshi Shinagawa

After the death of this mother, Masao Oneta (Teppei Koike) decides to leave the comfort of his room after years of self isolation and get a job. He lands a position at a small IT firm but doesn't yet realise this company is one of many 'black companies', known for ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yuichi Satoh
CAST:  Teppei Koike  •  Maiko  •  Seiichi Tanabe  •  Hiroshi Shinagawa

My Long Awaited Love Story (2017)

Riko is 27, working as a love simulation game designer, and she no longer has big expectations for a man in her life. One day app company TIMEIS, lead by Soichiro, hires her to work on their latest game.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Takafumi Hatano
CAST:  Mikako Tabe  •  Aya Omasa  •  Jun Shison  •  Yoji Tanaka

Riko is 27, working as a love simulation game designer, and she no longer has big expectations for a man in her life. One day app company TIMEIS, lead by Soichiro, hires her to work on their latest game.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Takafumi Hatano
CAST:  Mikako Tabe  •  Aya Omasa  •  Jun Shison  •  Yoji Tanaka

Octopus (2015)

Squid have 10 legs. Octopuses have 8 legs. Added together, that’s 18 legs.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Isamu Hirabayashi
CAST:  Kanako Higashi  •  Mizuki Komatsu  •  Yaeko Kiyose  •  Tadashi Bise

Squid have 10 legs. Octopuses have 8 legs. Added together, that’s 18 legs.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Isamu Hirabayashi
CAST:  Kanako Higashi  •  Mizuki Komatsu  •  Yaeko Kiyose  •  Tadashi Bise

Shell and Joint (2019)

Nitobe and Sakamoto are childhood friends who now work at the front desk of a capsule hotel. Nitobe has a particular fondness for philosophy and crustaceans. Sakamoto, meanwhile, is fixated on suicide. The capsule hotel draws a variety of guests, including a ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Isamu Hirabayashi
CAST:  Mariko Tsutsui  •  Keisuke Horibe  •  Kanako Higashi  •  Hiromi Kitagawa

Nitobe and Sakamoto are childhood friends who now work at the front desk of a capsule hotel. Nitobe has a particular fondness for philosophy and crustaceans. Sakamoto, meanwhile, is fixated on suicide. The capsule hotel draws a variety of guests, including a ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Isamu Hirabayashi
CAST:  Mariko Tsutsui  •  Keisuke Horibe  •  Kanako Higashi  •  Hiromi Kitagawa

The Albino's Trees (2016)

A poignant moral dilemma unfolding against lush mountainous landscapes, The Albino’s Trees follows Yuku (Ryohei Matsuoka), an animal control hunter who takes on a lucrative job to kill a rare white deer considered to be a god of the forest by a nearby village. ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Masakazu Kaneko
CAST:  Shuichiro Masuda  •  Ryohei Matsuoka  •  Yûsuke Fukuchi  •  Kanako Higashi

A poignant moral dilemma unfolding against lush mountainous landscapes, The Albino’s Trees follows Yuku (Ryohei Matsuoka), an animal control hunter who takes on a lucrative job to kill a rare white deer considered to be a god of the forest by a nearby village. ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Masakazu Kaneko
CAST:  Shuichiro Masuda  •  Ryohei Matsuoka  •  Yûsuke Fukuchi  •  Kanako Higashi

Underwear Affair (2010)

In a present, Asako, a housewife, lives with her 5-year-old son in a country side, separated from her husband who runs kindergarden. When she was young, she lives with her mother and young sister in a tiny and dirty apartment. A scar on her thigh, underwear, smell ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yukiko Sode
CAST:  Tomono Kuga  •  Yuriko Ono  •  Takashi Yamanaka  •  Kanako Higashi

In a present, Asako, a housewife, lives with her 5-year-old son in a country side, separated from her husband who runs kindergarden. When she was young, she lives with her mother and young sister in a tiny and dirty apartment. A scar on her thigh, underwear, smell ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yukiko Sode
CAST:  Tomono Kuga  •  Yuriko Ono  •  Takashi Yamanaka  •  Kanako Higashi

Boy Sprouted (2022)

A boy who can't eat a tomato was pushed by his mother to overcome his least favorite. When he swallowed it, something sprouted from his own body. The boy doubted the tomato he ate and visited a tomato farm to find out what happened to him. There he met a scary ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yûko Watanabe
CAST:  Hara Seitaro  •  Kanako Higashi  •  Kenji Iwaya

A boy who can't eat a tomato was pushed by his mother to overcome his least favorite. When he swallowed it, something sprouted from his own body. The boy doubted the tomato he ate and visited a tomato farm to find out what happened to him. There he met a scary ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yûko Watanabe
CAST:  Hara Seitaro  •  Kanako Higashi  •  Kenji Iwaya