Director Conversation and Film Screening

Small, Slow But Steady with Filmmaker SHŌ Miyake

6:00 - 8:30 pm, Saturday, November 14, 2026
The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles
(5700 Wilshire Blvd, Ste 100, Los Angeles, CA 90036)

RSVP HERE
Free, RSVP Required

Enjoy the film Small, Slow But Steady (2022, 99 mins) followed by an intimate conversation with its director SHŌ Miyake as he discusses his creative process, how he imbues semi-fictional characters with emotional motivations, and how his films address important - and often difficult - topics within Japanese society. The conversation will be moderated by JFLA Arts & Culture Program Officer Michael VanHartingsveldt and interpreted by Monika Uchiyama. 

Synopsis: Keiko (Yukino Kishii) is a semi-professional boxer who has been deaf since childhood. Her biggest supporter is the owner of her struggling Tokyo gym, but due to the pandemic and his advanced age, her greatest refuge is under threat of closure.

This event is part of the series Unspoken Gestures: A Shō Miyake Retrospective that has brought and will bring the filmmaker to New York City, Oklahoma City, Riverside, Los Angeles, and select cities in Europe. 

FILMMAKER

SHŌ Miyake

Shō Miyake completed the elementary fiction course at the Film School of Tokyo and began making feature films soon after graduating from university. His film Playback (2012) was selected for the Locarno International Competition, and And Your Bird Can Sing (2018), Small, Slow But Steady (2022), and All the Long Nights (2024) were invited to the Berlin International Film Festival. His latest, Two Seasons, Two Strangers (2025) won the Golden Leopard, the top prize at the Locarno Film Festival.