My Small Land

Original story, Screen play and Directed by:
KAWAWADA Emma

(114min / Drama / Japanese, Turkish, Kurdish language with English subtitles / Japan-France Co-production)

For Sarya (17), a Kurdish refugee girl in Japan, life seems to be looking up; her grades at school are enough to pursue college, she’s surrounded with good friends and her relationship with Sota is becoming special. Sarya’s life becomes upside down, however, when she learns that her family’s refugee status is turned down, restricting her family of work and traveling across the city. Her father, who had continued to work to sustain a living, is taken into custody for illegal employment. Sarya is now suddenly forced into a situation where she is responsible not only for her younger siblings but for her very existence.

©2022 "My Small Land" Production Committee     

Director & Cast

  • KAWAWADA Emma 川和田 恵真

    Director

    KAWAWADA Emma was born on October 15, 1991 in Ibaraki, Japan. She graduated from Waseda University where she studied theater and film arts in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

    She joined production company BUN-BUKU, mainly led by KORE-EDA Hirokazu and NISHIKAWA Miwa, in November 2014 and was the assistant for Director KORE-EDA Hirokazu for The Third Murder and Director HIROSE Nanako for His Lost Name. She also directed several episodes of “Kyo-no, Akinai” between 2015 and 2016.

  • ARASHI Lina 嵐莉菜

    Actor (Sarya)

    Born in 2004, Saitama, Japan. She won the Grand Prix and ViVi Award at the “ｍiss iD” beauty contest and started her career as a fashion model. “My Small Land” marks as her debut feature and performance as a leading role.

    She has diverse backgrounds: her mother with Japanese and German origins, and her father with mixed heritage of Iran, Iraq and Russia, and Japanese citizenship. The roles of the father, sister & brother in this film are performed by her real family.

  • OKUDAIRA Daiken 奥平大兼

    Actor (Sota)

    Born in 2003, Tokyo, Japan. Despite having no experience in acting, he was selected from among hundreds of applicants at his first audition, and made his acting debut as the main role in the feature "MOTHER" (2020) directed by Tatsushi Omori. His presence and acting in the film were highly praised and swept major domestic best newcomer awards of the year at the Japan Academy Film Prize, the Japan Movie Critics Award, Kinema Junpo Top 10 and the Blue Ribbon Awards.

Trailers & Media