I Am What I Am (KOTATSU screenings)

I Am What I Am
そばかす

Saturday, January 25, 1:25PM (ET)

Lineup starts 12:55PM | Doors open 1:10PM | Film Screening | In-Person | Innis Town Hall

Directed by TAMADA Shinya • 2022 • Drama / LGBTQIA+ • 104 minutes • Presented in Japanese with English subtitles • Trailer

“I don’t want to fall in love, I don’t have those feelings. So I can live alone – that’s me.”—SOBATA Kasumi

Kasumi (MIURA Tōko, Drive My Car) has always lived her life aromantically and asexually, without having romantic feelings for people. It’s not that she doesn’t like men, nor does she like women. She is unable to see other people sexually.

On the other hand, for Kasumi, who lives with her family in a provincial town by the sea and is now 30 years old, marriage is a topic that always comes up. Her mother is always talking about marriage. Her younger sister is already married and pregnant. People around her, without regard to Kasumi’s thoughts or feelings, continue to insist that it is natural for women to get married.

One day, Kasumi’s mother surprises her with a matchmaking session. Kasumi wants to leave, but when she talks with Sho (IZIMA Kuu), she discovers he’s not interested in romance either. Unexpectedly, they feel a sense of closeness and become friends.

This screening is a part of our annual winter film showcase, KOTATSU 2025: Japanese Cinema at Innis Town Hall.

Free admission. Register below.

Director Profile:

Born in Ishikawa Prefecture in 1986, SHINYA Tamada is a director, screenwriter and playwright who has worked in film, television, and stage, and is a member of the directing department of the Japanese theater company Seinendan. His feature film debut Lust In A Karaoke Bar (2018) was based on the play of the same title that he wrote for his own theater troupe, Kikaku Tamada. In his films The Girl I Like (2020) and I Am What I Am (2022), he takes a critical look at romantic stereotypes.

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