New Film Express|Comedy Film “Dance With Me” Released on January 22

Written and directed by Shinobu Yaguchi, the Japanese comedy film “Dance With Me” starring Ayaka Miyoshi, Yuu Yashiro and Tsuyoshi Muro, was officially released on January 22. The film was once selected for “Premiere Festival” screening section at the 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival.

The film “Dance With Me” tells the story of an urban white-collar woman, Shizuka Suzuk, who falls under a “musical spell”. Whenever the music plays, she starts to have hallucinations and dances passionately in public places like workplace and restaurant. All kinds of trouble caused by it in her daily life force her to go on a journey of breaking the curse.    

In fact, the ordinary company employee Shizuka Suzuk holds a dream for the stage. Her peaceful life is disturbed after being hypnotized, and she finally regains her courage to pursue the dream by coincidence.

With a light-hearted and humorous style, “Dance With Me” combines a fantastical touch into its realistic narrative, interpreting a “daydream” of the urban white-collar in an absurd and comical way.

The Director Shinobu Yaguchi is known for his youth comedies, and started to create 8mm films on his own while in college. In 2002, his comedy film Water Boys was shortlisted for Best Director at the 25th Japan Academy Award. In 2004, Swing Girls, written and directed by him, won the Best Screenwriter at the 28th Japan Academy Award. Besides, he also directed the film Survival Family in 2017. 

Shinobu Yaguchi and Ayaka Miyoshi attended the 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival 

To Chinese audiences, the main actress Ayaka Miyoshi is one of the famous Japanese actresses. In 2014, she appeared in the school drama Great Teacher GTO 2014, and later starred in Jay Chou\'s music video “Won’t Cry” as main actress in 2019. While in “Dance With Me”, Ayaka Miyoshi changes her previous image of “beloved goddess” to an office “worker”, not only showing off her talents, but also perfectly interpreting the role of an energetic, fashionable and beautiful white-collar woman. 

The Shanghai International Film Festival focuses on discovering new-emerging directors from multiple levels and perspectives, while showcasing high-quality films and promoting international cooperation and exchange. Among them, the “Premiere Festival” section aims to bring the world premieres of major new films from overseas to Shanghai. During the 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival, director Shinobu Yaguchi with actress Ayaka Miyoshi came to Shanghai to meet with local audiences, causing overwhelming response. “Dance With Me” also won the “Best Audience Choice Award” at the Toronto Japanese Film Festival and the “Audience Silver Award” at the Fantasia International Film Festival.