Okiku and the World received the Kinema Junpo Award for Best Film of the Year, taking the top spot ahead of Perfect Days, Monster, and The Boy and the Heron. Set in Edo-era Japan, the film tells the story of Yasuke (Sosuke Ikematsu), who makes a living out of selling human waste to farmers and persuades the young paper seller Chunji (Kanichiro Sato) to be his business partner. While sheltering from a storm, the pair meet Okiku (Haru Kuroki), a young schoolteacher and daughter of a disgraced samurai (Koichi Sato). After having her vocal cords severed during a brutal attack, Okiku falls in love with Chunji–yet how can their love blossom given his low social status and her inability to speak?

Junji Sakamoto’s latest period drama is a groundbreaking, realist work that revolves around the themes of youth, love, and sustainability, interspersed with a good dose of toilet humour. The film is shot in gorgeous black-and-white, embellished with glimpses of colour.

Junji Sakamoto (b. 1958, Japan) worked as an assistant director for the films of Sogo Ishii and Kazuyuki Izutsu while he was attending Yokohama National University. He is a well-established independent filmmaker whose directorial debut Knock Out! (1989) won the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award. He won the award for Best Director at the 24th Japan Academy Prize and at the 22nd Yokohama Film Festival for Face (2000).

Other notable films include Iron Fist (1990), New Battles Without Honor and Humanity (2000), KT (2002), My House (2003), Chameleon (2008), Zatoichi: The Last (2010), Someday (2011), and Human Trust (2013).