With its calm and peaceful depiction of a farm where people with disabilities work, a Japanese documentary film is aiming to give audiences a look into the everyday lives of people who are often kept in the shadows.
Originally intended as a statement against an ableist-inspired killing spree in which 19 residents of a care home were murdered eight years ago, the film, "Fujiyama Cottonton," ultimately took a more sanguine approach, although director Taku Aoyagi was clear in his purpose.
"What motivated me the most to create this film was the 2016 incident at Yamayuri En," the 30-year-old director said, referring to the mass killing, one of Japan's worst mass murder cases, which targeted residents of a nursing home in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture.