“Nagasaki” selected as Japan’s foreign Oscars contender

PanARMENIAN.Net - Veteran director Yoji Yamada’s drama “Nagasaki: Memories of My Son” has been selected as Japan’s contender for the foreign-language Oscar awards race, Variety reveals.

The announcement was made Tuesday, September 6 by the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. The film was chosen by a committee affiliated with the MPPAJ from 16 candidate movies.

Set in the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, the film stars Sayuri Yoshinaga as a midwife in who, three years after her son (Kazunari Ninomiya) died in the blast, receives a visit from his still much-alive-looking ghost.

Released in Japan in December 2015, the film won two prizes from the Japan Academy: A best actor award for Ninomiya and a best supporting actress award for Haru Kuroki as the son’s still-loyal girlfriend.

The 84-year-old Yamada’s 2002 period drama “The Twilight Samurai” received an Oscar nomination at the 76th Academy Awards, but did not win.