Grüße aus Fukushima

A young German woman, Marie, travels to Japan to escape her broken dreams. She joins the organisation Clowns4Help who seek to spread a little cheer amongst the victims of the triple catastrophe in Fukushima in 2011 who are still living in manshift stills. Most of the inhabitants are elderly people who were either not able or simply did not want to move away. But Marie soon realises that she is not cut out for this task. She is about to take flight once again when she meets the headstrong Satomi, Fukushima’s last geisha, who has decided to move back into her ruined house in the prohibited area. Maria helps Satomi to clear up. The young girl and the older woman could not be more different but they gradually get to know each other and both find themselves confronted by the ghosts of their respective pasts.
After Kirschblüten – Hanami (Cherry Blossoms) Doris Dörrie, who also wrote the screenplay, returns to Japan for this black-and-white drama which tells a poetic and universal tale about letting go and getting on with one’s life.