Takachi, a young gay porn star from a small town in Japan, is found dead in Tokyo. At his wake, two of his friends, Reiko and Shinpei, recollect their time together, attempting to piece together fragments of Takachi’s life. What emerges is a sometimes contradictory portrait of a desperately lonely man who longs for love and kindness: but can his life ever really be understood by others? Akihiro Suzuki’s impressive debut feature challenges assumptions around sexuality, presenting characters who are androgynous or whose sexual preferences are ambiguous, rejecting the idea that desire is something fixed or unchanging. Filmed in a lo-fi, indie style, Looking for an Angel is a quintessential example of Japan’s dynamic queer cinema scene, interweaving past and present, memories and stories, as it offers an impressionistic account of the elusive Takachi’s existence.
Festival 2025
Looking for an Angel
Japan, 1999
Feature
Directed by
Akihiro Suzuki
Akihiro Suzuki
Running time
60 mins
60 mins
Tickets
15 May 2025, 6:30 PM
Barbican Centre
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Director Bio
Akihiro Suzuki is a filmmaker and the owner of film distribution company S.I.G. He has directed several feature films, and currently runs the Underground Cinema Festival. He helped set up the first LGBTQ+ film festival in Japan, the Tokyo Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, which he directed for its first two years.
Additional info
This screening is followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Akihiro Suzuki.