PAPER CRANES & BLUE FROG / Tokyo Tourism Paradox
Focus on Japan
Schedule
Nov 13, 2026 @ 02:00 PM
PAPER CRANES & BLUE FROG
折り鶴と蒼い蛙
19 min | Drama | 2025 | Japan | Japanese | English Subs
Synopsis:
After learning about the “Paper Crane Girl,” a young atomic bomb victim, a boy named Aki travels alone to Hiroshima to visit the Children’s Peace Monument. Along the way, a lonely woman’s story of a blue frog leads him to question love, war, and death, while his philosopher father follows in search of him. A poetic exploration of loss and the fragile hope that endures despair.
Director
Chavo
Born in 1983, Chavo is a filmmaker based in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan. After working as a photographer, manga artist and entrepreneur, he began making films in 2023. He is currently developing his first feature, UNFOLD.
Tokyo Tourism Paradox
観測者過多都市
6 min | Fiction (fully AI-generated) | 2025 | Japan | Japanese | English Subs
Synopsis:
In a near-future Tokyo pushed to the extreme of hyper-tourism, first-time visitor James is captivated by a carefully staged “Tokyo experience,” but gradually begins to realize that the city is an illusion. In a metropolis designed to be seen, what will he ultimately encounter?
Director
Hiroki Yamaguchi
Film director and CEO of Gaumapix. Since Hellevator: The Bottled Fools (Award winner of the Fantasia International Film Festival 2004), he has worked as both director and editor for live-action films. After the selection of the AI film IMPROVEMENT CYCLE at the 2024 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in Korea, he started incorporating generative AI into his film and video productions. In 2025, the AI film GRANDMALEVIT was released theatrically. He also works as an advisor on AI filmmaking.