Japan would seem to be a paradise for LGBT people. Transgender "talents" have been appearing regularly on Japanese TV for decades and LGBT folks can walk the streets here with little fear.
But dig below Japan's surface tolerance for sexual minorities, as Naoko Ogigami does in her new film "Close-Knit," and the reality is not so rosy.
Known for films such as her break-out hit "Kamome Diner" ("Kamome Shokudo," 2006), about unconventional Japanese women looking for a fresh start, Ogigami has found her own career's second act in "Close-Knit," which premiered in the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival's Panorama section, won the Teddy Special Jury Award and finished second in the voting for the Panorama Audience Award.