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Japan's Official Submission to the Academy Awards


After a long and unsuccessful struggle to get pregnant, Satoko and her husband decide to adopt a child. Over the next six years, the middle-class couple and their young son Asato settle into a comfortable, albeit routine, life. The family’s orderly existence is shattered by the arrival of Hikari, a young woman claiming to be Asato’s biological mother, demanding his return. As tensions mount, Satoko grows more and more emboldened to defend her family. 


Weaving together multiple timelines and genres with a contemplative pacing and keen sense of place, hallmarks of Kawase’s work, TRUE MOTHERS is “is a deeply touching celebration of women who assume duties of love, support and compassion” (Awards Watch).

  • Year
    2020
  • Runtime
    140 minutes
  • Language
    Japanese
  • Country
    Japan
  • Director
    Naomi Kawase
  • Screenwriter
    Naomi Kawase & Izumi Takahashi. Based on the novel by Mizuki Tsujimura
  • Producer
    Yumiko Takebe
  • Executive Producer
    Naoya Kinoshita
  • Cast
    Hiromi Nagasaku, Arata Iura, Aju Makita, Reo Sato
  • Cinematographer
    Yûta Tsukinaga, Naoki Sakakibara
  • Editor
    Tina Baz, Yôichi Shibuya
  • Production Design
    Setsuko Shiokawa Tina Baz
  • Sound Design
    Roman Dymny Olivier Goinard
  • Music
    Akira Kosemura, An Tôn Thât