RIVER RETURNS

Director Akiko Ohku in Attendance

It’s the summer of 1958. A young boy named Yucha lives in a riverside village constantly threatened by typhoons. He hears the local legend of Oyo, a broken-hearted girl who drowned herself in a river pool deep in the mountains. It is said that her grief has been causing great floods every few decades ever since. As a deadly typhoon approaches, Yucha embarks on a perilous journey to a haunted mountain pool, determined to calm her sorrowful spirit in order to save his village. A gentle and gorgeously photographed fantasy drama on the themes of spirituality, humanity and the natural world.

Winner of the Youth Jury Award for Best Feature Film at Spain’s Gijón International Film Festival 2024.