花より団子
DUMPLINGS OVER FLOWERS
PRODUCER
Run Time: 5:46
Genre: Experimental Drama
Langauge: Japanese, English [English .srt available]
A grueling Japanese experimental thriller, following the story of young Hanako, a Japanese expat who migrated to England with her family. Despite their struggles, the one thing she could guarantee was her father would make her a meal and spend quality time together. As her parents' marriage strained, she began to experience love without reciprocity. Her father and her disconnect and she begins to experience Hanahaki [A Japanese folklore that states when once receives unrequited love, flowers grow from within them]. As their relationship grows grow astray, Hanako chooses to stand for herself and take her love back. Although her father attempts to reconnect, he is met with flowers from within. Rejected, they both remain recirpcally out of love.
Going against the grain
This film was created at the very beginning of COVID-19, a time when new regulations were just being implemented and racism against East Asians in England had reached an all-time high. To ensure authenticity, we collaborated closely with the Japanese Society at Manchester Metropolitan University, relying on them for information, translation, and cultural insights. We felt that a different narrative about East Asian immigrants was urgently needed—one that explored complex relationships without centering on their immigration status. While the story is deeply emotional, we hoped it would help diffuse some of the tension during such a challenging period.
