A 360-degree, all-encompassing visual experience. Watch fireworks, a beloved symbol of Japanese summer, beyond the seasons, as if gazing up at a star-filled sky. The first full-dome educational film in the fireworks industry, conveying the history and techniques of fireworks accumulated over more than 400 years since the Edo period. Centered on the protagonist Hibana, the story of fireworks is unraveled through live-action footage and CG animation. In addition to Japan’s representative fireworks displays, the live-action footage of cutting-edge show fireworks designed for full-sphere imagery, with 5,000 shells launched from all 360 degrees, captures the perspective from “directly beneath the fireworks,” a place no one except fireworks artisans may ever enter for safety reasons, enabling an entirely new visual experience. Official selection, the 12th Ebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions.

Christmas Eve. In Japan, it is a day for reaffirming the bonds between people. A short ensemble drama depicting the stories of several people living in the same city who are drawn together on Christmas Eve through cigarettes: Rui Hasegawa, waiting for her promise with her boyfriend to be fulfilled; Ken Nozaki, a burglar searching for someone on this holy night; Atsuya Uehara, a father who does not get along with his daughter; his daughter, the playful Nao Uehara; and Yoshito Kono, who is growing impatient as he tries to keep his promise to Rui.

A small event that happened to a girl living in the desert. The girl had been trying to cheer up a withered flower, but before she knew it, she was following whatever caught her eye out of curiosity. As she did, her sadness and anxiety faded away, and she returned to her carefree and joyful life. Perhaps sad moments and happy ones are connected somewhere after all.