Top 200 Most Anticipated Films for 2014: #192. Naomi Kawase’s Still the Water

Still the Water

Director: Naomi Kawase
Writer: Naomi Kawase
Producers: Commes des Cinemas, Kumie Inc., Arte France Cinema & Eddie Saeta.
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Makiko Watanabe, Hideo Sakaki, Tetta Sugimoto, Miyuki Matsuda

In the midst of a creative spike, Kawase who is already in prep and finance mode for An – sweet red bean paste (presented at Rotterdam’s Cinemart last month) will once again make a filmic case for the intimate rapport between our natural backdrop and person to person relationships. Look for Still the Water to be coated with plenty of green, ocean blues and blood line reds – as the basis for the project came about when the filmmaker learned of her grandmother’s backtory.

Gist: Taking place during the full-moon night of traditional dances in August and set on the Japanese island of Amami-Oshima, the drama centers on a 14-year-old boy who finds a dead body floating in the sea. The young man enlists the help of his girlfriend to solve the mystery. The pair “will learn to become adults by experiencing the interwoven cycles of life, death and love.

Release Date: Filming began in October of last year — set for a domestic Japanese release this summer, this will be a Cannes Main Comp or Un Certain Regard selected title.

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