Kotowari

Synopsis

Saki, a Japanese woman living with her French wife Tom, has waited two and a half years for a residence permit. Collecting the document should mark the end of a prolonged uncertainty and allow the couple to look toward a more settled future. Their visit to the immigration office instead becomes complicated by obstacles neither expected to face at that moment. The short film follows the emotional distance between an administrative process and the lives dependent on its outcome. A routine appointment acquires enormous significance because belonging has been made conditional on someone else's decision. For Saki and Tom, the experience reveals how a recognized relationship can still leave one partner vulnerable, and how hope must be negotiated within systems that do not share the urgency of the people waiting.