A story of finding a place to root yourself when life’s obstacles have dispirited you. Changsu, a former equestrian athlete, was forced to give up on his dream early. He finds himself working at a quarry in rural Maniwa in western Japan, where he lives with Minami and her infant daughter. Yamabuki, a teenage girl, begins to stage protests that blossom into community action. The quiet surface of this rural town is gradually peeled off to reveal frustration and loneliness.

Yamasaki Juichiro (b. 1978, Osaka) had organised a student film festival while still in university; made a couple of short films and worked as an assistant director, before moving to a small mountain village in Okayama. ‘The Sound of Light’ (2011) was his debut feature film.