ただいま – N.K. International

Please read! I’ve left the whole article the way it was written and published back in June 2019. The Tadaima DVD, once a very hard to find collectable item is available again from the director’s store: Daisuke Shimada Online Store. Post modified on August 15, 2021 (new edit on 30/12/2022: minor corrections & some new pics).

Sumire, a teenage girl, convinces a driver* to take her to her homeplace in the Tohoku region. There, they find an area which was ravaged by the tsunami that followed the megathrust earthquake on March 11, 2011. The disaster destroyed her house and took away her parents. Through compassion and carefully chosen words, the man will offer the young girl what she has lost: the will to survive and live.

This short film (runtime is approximately 27′) was presented in 2013 at the Tama Cinema Forum. Directed by Daisuke Shimada and produced by Qotori Films, it cast only two actors, Shohei Uno and a complete newcomer in the world of cinema, 17-year-old Nana Komatsu.

Tadaima enjoyed a second life when the company decided to release it on DVD in October 2016. That was good timing as the actress and model film and media exposure was quite spectacular that year. The digipack item included a booklet, the film on DVD and a bonus music clip, an alternate version of Tin Plate/ブリキ by Radwimps, featuring Nana Komatsu.

*according to the Japanese script, the man is a small entrepreneur with his business car…　