Yoko Narahashi, Japan’s “Gatekeeper to Hollywood,” directed her first feature back in 1995, an adaptation of the Masayuki Imai play “Hold My Hand.” Two decades later, she revealed at the 2015 Kyoto International Film Festival that she had been working on another, at the time of Imai’s death.A play about a couple who each suffer from a learning disability, “Hold My Hand” had become a modern classic in Japanese theater, and Narahashi jumped on the chance to adapt it in to a film. Imai though, was terminally ill when production began. He died just a few months later, age 54.Now complete, the film is set to be released on the first anniversary of his death on May 28, and Narahashi along with cast member Nanami, joined the Okinawa International Movie Festival to present the film.The tale tells of Makoto (Jay Kabira), who is bullied in school due to a slight learning disability. He meets Sakura (Nanami), who suffers from a similar affliction, and the two marry. Years later, reminiscing on his life, Makoto meets Reiko, and the two travel to Ise Shrine in Amanohashidate, Kyoto.
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