Let Me Hear It Barefoot

Naomi, a student dropout, only believes in things he can touch. However, when he really wants to touch someone, he recoils. As is the case when he befriends Maki, a happy-go-lucky young man who lives with Midori, a blind woman who dreamily expounds about places she has never been. When Midori becomes seriously ill, Maki and Naomi send her tapes from an imaginary trip around the world. Their relationship becomes more intimate whilst recording, but they only dare engage in rough, painful horseplay. Hesitations, feints, social pressure and awkwardness colours this sensitively told tale of two young men as they become intimate with one another – a rare story of a gay relationship in Japanese indie film.

• Japan