If you live in, or near, a major city or university town in the U.S., you probably have at least one theater dedicated to showing independent films. If you’re especially lucky, as I am, you can even count on seeing many of the films from the smaller companies on the big screen. Other countries, such as Thailand, where I spent some time, and Japan, where movie going is quite popular, lack the infrastucture for independent films.

One of the few female filmmakers from Japan, Naomi Kawase, saw her newest film, The Mourning Forest win the Grand Prix at the most recent Cannes Film Festival. The film is scheduled to open on a handful of screen in Tokyo, June 23, and play at about two dozen theaters nationwide. While Japanese films have experienced greater popularity, this has been primarily restricted to the various genre films in release. Kawase is hoping for greater government and public support for Japanese independent films. She stated, “What we really need to do is change public awareness so original movies become fashionable. I need to make use of my movie winning the prize, to make it a kind of turning point.” Kawase understands that her films are not of the kind that simply entertain – “My movies are the kind that demand that viewers pay attention — that echo and gradually reach their hearts — and not so many people go to theatres to see these.”

For those more interested in learning about this filmmaker, Naomi Kawase has a website in English.