Diamonds in the Sand
2024 | 1hr 42m | Japanese and Tagalog, with English subtitles | U.S. Premiere
Starring:
Lily Franky, Maria Isabel Lopez, Soliman Cruz, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, and Charlie Dizon.
Divorced salaryman Yoji has just buried his mother in Tokyo. With few meaningful relationships left, he comes to grips with the realization that he has nothing to live for.
A chance encounter with Minerva, a Filipina migrant worker who appears to sense his sadness, urges him to see his situation in a new way. A former nightclub entertainer, Minerva now works as a caregiver to provide for her only child in the Philippines.
When Yoji discovers the decomposing corpse of his neighbor, an old man whose name he does not know, the death is ruled a kodokushi, or the lonely death. Unwilling to meet the same fate, Yoji throws caution to the wind to follow Minerva to Manila, the capital city of the Philippines.
In Manila, Yoji meets Angel, Minerva’s conflicted 21-year-old daughter. A Japino rejected by her Japanese father, she finds herself at a crossroads post-graduation. Like Yoji, Angel has also just witnessed death, but the kind that's taking over the seedy parts of Manila.
For all its drawbacks and discomforts, the chaos of the unfamiliar city offers Yoji the promise of life, human connection, and an unpredictable destiny – anything but the dark, silent certainty of kodokushi.
Summary
About the Filmmaker:
Janus Victoria is a writer and director born and based in Manila. A long-time media practitioner, she produces current affairs documentaries for Philippine broadcasting and digital platforms. Her films explore the relationships between people and places. She has completed six short features, including “Myth of Manila,” and a documentary, Encounters with Silence, about the lonely deaths in Tokyo apartments. Diamonds in the Sand is her first feature film.