Yuma (Mei Kayama) is a talented 23-year-old artist with cerebral palsy who has always lived under the watch of her overprotective mother. When her YouTube star friend begins taking credit for all her work, Yuma decides to break free and make a name for herself. She brings her portfolio to the editor of an erotic manga magazine who tells Yuma that although her work is technically excellent it lacks worldly experience, and to return after she’s explored her sexuality. This she does in increasingly surprising ways. In the hallway of a love hotel she meets Mai (Makiki Watanabe), an empathic sex worker who takes Yuma under her wing to expand her horizons and grow her confidence. Writer/director HIKARI’s debut feature is a charming, frank and sensitive coming-of-age story that celebrates individuality from an underrepresented point of view.

Winner: Panorama Audience Award — Fiction Film, Berlin; Audience Award — Mind the Gap World Cinema, Mill Valley

Director HIKARI, director of photography Stephen Blahut, and editor Thomas A Krueger are expected to be in attendance on January 9 and 10.