Hush! (35mm, 20th Anniversary)

Hush! is classic film in the history of Japanese LGBTQ+ cinema, questioning the traditional structures of family, home, and parenthood. Asako has always avoided meaningful relationships, but after a chance encounter with a gay man, Katsuhiro, she sees the opportunity to become a mother by having a child with him through artificial insemination. When she makes the proposition, Katsuhiro and his partner Naoya are initially astonished, but gradually, they begin to open up to the idea of having a baby. Ryosuke Hashiguchi’s film screened in the official selection of the 2001 Cannes Film Festival Directors’ Fortnight, and twenty years after its release, this groundbreaking work can be appreciated for its anticipation of current debates around same-sex families and parenthood.