Control Tower

Takahiro Miki : 2011
Kanseitou

The story of two lonely teenagers, Kakeru and Mii, who cannot find their place in life, but who gradually discover a common empathy through music. Junior high-school boy Kakeru Fujita was born in Wakkanai, Japan's northernmost town on the island of Hokkaido. Very much a loner, he lives an alienated and directionless life, drifting through school. One day he meets Mizuho Takimoto, a female transfer student, who reminds him of the character from the Moomins, Little My. She has nothing in common with her classmates and keeps her feelings firmly locked away. Discovering a guitar in storage at his house, Kakeru enlists the help of piano-playing Mii to help him form a band. Both solitary by nature, they find in each other someone with whom they can connect, and through their music, the two form a friendship which will develop into the timid feelings of first love. Based on the song Kanseitou by the band Galileo Galilei, it is a beautifully shot, tender love story expressing the loneliness of its teen characters and the lack of control that adolescents have over their own lives. The film's European premiere screened at Raindance Film Festival 2011.