Short Film CITIZENs Screens at Cannes After Awaji Island Festival Reception
The short film "CITIZENs - The Choice Not to Fight" screened at the Cannes International Film Festival's Short Film Corner in May, following a special showing at the Umi Zora Film Festival on Awaji Island in April. The film, directed and written by Yasushi Furuichi, has previously won three awards at the Tropea Film Festival in Italy in 2025, including Best International Short Film, and multiple prizes at the Monaco International Film Festival in 2025. At the Awaji Island event, held on April 25 at the Sumoto Orion theater, lead actress Yasuko Fujii (who won Best Actress at Tropea), producer Yuka Kobayashi, cast member Hitomi Iwasaki, and others participated in a post-screening talk. Audience members drew connections between the film's theme of choosing not to fight and current global tensions, with many urging the filmmakers to share the message worldwide. The film is produced by Film Japanesque, with Deep Emotion and Yo Tera Yo Tera as production partners.