As a teenager I used to read books by Banana Yoshimoto, I often would prefer to read the same book more than once rather than many different ones. In her novels I found a sense of peace and sweet acceptance of life that I liked to experience again and again.

As I read about simple human beings going through traumatic experiences, hidden in the stories of death and loss were details about everyday life that brought a kind of lightness and give characters hope.

In Yoshimoto’s books, the presence of details mirrors the evolution of the characters that are very grounded in real life, to the objects, places, nature, animals and people they are surrounded by, acting as an anchor to life.

Shooting a film-portrait of her is my dream as a director, and when the possibility was presented to me, I knew I had to go to Japan and meet the real Banana Yoshimoto. In this film I wish to go beyond the fantasy of her and find the simple human behind her books about simple human beings.

Ms. Yoshimoto has made it  clear to me that she does not wish to reveal anything about her personal life or home, rather she would be happy to be interviewed by me and walk around her neighborhood with her dog, where she lives and works, and where one of her books is based on. For this reason I decided to focus on everything surrounding her in great detail, as a mirror of her.

In the spring of 2023 I was diagnosed with an autoimmune degenerative disease. This very hard news coincided with Banana Yoshimoto's approval to my documentary project, a response I had been waiting for months and which was not predictable in its generosity.

The timing of this event, in my eyes almost magical, allowed me to regain strength and determination to tackle the work, but also to find within it new inspiration.

I think, in the first part of the work, of simple, moving, sensual images that are part of my intimate story, in the beauty and quiet of the Sienese countryside, atmospheres that contrast with the chaotic spaces of Tokyo (part two) during the meeting with the writer.

These two universes meet in Shimokitazawa, the neighborhood where Banana Yoshimoto lives and works.

The film, at times a documentary, at times a visionary narrative, wishes to lead the eye to the harshness and delicacy of life as described perfectly by Banana Yoshimoto in her stories.