North American Premiere

Introduction and Q&A with director Naoko Ogigami



Sayoko rents out cats. Every day she walks along the banks of the river towing her animals in a little handcart, with a parasol to shade her against the heat and a megaphone over her mouth, calling out "Cats for rent! Are you lonely? Why not rent a cat?" Sayoko's cat rental helps lonely people fill the emptiness in their hearts. But Sayoko is also lonely--ever since her grandmother's death she has lived with her cats in an overgrown haven in the midst of the big city where all she hears--apart from the cats' meowing--are her eccentric neighbor's insults. One day, a young man turns up from Sayoko's past. He follows her home and all at once Sayoko's life seems to fall apart…



Japan. 2011. 110 min., DigiBeta, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Naoko Ogigami. With Mikako Ichikawa, Reiko Kusamura, Ken Mitsuishi, Maho Yamada.



"A gentle charmer of a film."--Screen Daily



Part of JAPAN CUTS 2012



TICKETS

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