Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefProduction has wrapped in both Singapore and Japan on Nicole Midori Woodford’s supernatural art house drama “Last Shadow at First Light.” It stars Nagase Masatoshi, Tsutsui Mariko (“Harmonium,” “A Girl Missing”), Peter Yu (“A Land Imagined”) and newcomer Shirata Mihaya.The story examines the intangible nature of trauma and the ripples of its aftermath through 16-year-old Ami (Shirata) who is haunted by visions.“This is a film borne out of darkness and loss, of a family’s frailties, set in both Singapore and Japan.
Shooting between two countries, I hope to capture the diverse mise-en-scene from the urban cities to the vast transformed landscapes my characters are lost within.
It has been incredible to work with my actors amidst such poignant terrain.” A large part of the filming took place in and around the city of Rikuzentakata in Japan, an area significantly affected by the tsunami and nuclear disaster of 2011.Upon the discovery of old recordings of her long dead mother (Tsutsui), Ami confronts her father (Yu) who is in denial about what happened.
Determined to follow the path in her visions, she leaves Singapore for Japan to connect with the only person who knows her mother’s last known whereabouts – a cynical taxi-driving uncle (Nagase) who has moved to Tokyo.
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