定谷美海
Yoshimi JOYA
Director / Screenwriter
Title
"Almost Goodbye"
Format / Genre
- Format
- Feature Film
- Genre
- Drama
Logline
Each night, a reclusive man pretends to be a successful version of himself at a convenience store, until he unexpectedly runs into former classmates who know the truth about him, destroying the illusion that has helped him survive.
Concept
In the age of social media and constant evaluation, the film transforms the loneliness of people living between the "self they present" and the "self they hide" into a universal emotion, starting from the extremely local setting of a Japanese convenience store.
Profile
She is a film director and screenwriter. Through making independent films, she has confronted the structural challenges within Japan's film industry - particularly the gap between films expected to succeed commercially and films in which artistic authorship is prioritized - while exploring the possibilities of international co-production.
Through her participation in the ATMOVIE GLOBAL TRACK, she has returned to the core of her project and reflected deeply on what she truly wants to express and why this story needs to be told now. In a contemporary society where people are constantly exposed to evaluation through social media and the gaze of society, she feels it is her mission to direct imagination toward the pain and silence of others, and to portray the self-acceptance that lies beyond them.
With this project, she plans to focus on writing and directing while actively seeking collaboration with co-producers who can deeply share her creative vision. At the same time, she intends to continue learning on the producing side and further strengthen the project from an international perspective.