Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Director Chie Hayakawa received a special mention of the Caméra d’Or at the 2022 Cannes International Film Festival for her film “Plan 75.”

The opening scene of the film takes place in a retirement home where a massacre committed by a youth is not dissimilar to the massacre of 19 disabled people that took place in the Kanagawa Prefecture in 2016. The killer said he carried out his crime to relieve society of the burden of the disabled.

The film portrays a government that incentivizes the death of its citizens for economic reasons and describes the project of a government that promotes euthanasia for those over 75. It takes place in the shadow of Japan’s ageing society.

The story is about Michi (Chieko Baisho), an elderly person who is suddenly plunged into poverty and who accepts the government plan to have a little more dignity before dying. She is supported by Maria (Stéphanie Arianne), a caregiver from the Philippines employed by the government program, who also agreed to participate in the program due to financial distress.

The film was a joint production by France, the Philippines and Japan that, according to the producer, allowed the director greater freedom in writing the script and to give it a more international dimension.

The film will be shown in theaters in Tokyo from June 17.