The Night I Swam
# The Night I Swam

The Night I Swam (Japanese: 泳ぎすぎた夜, Hepburn: Oyogi sugita yoru, French: Takara, la nuit où j'ai nagé) is a 2017 French-Japanese co-production drama film directed by Kohei Igarashi and Damien Manivel. The film was featured at a number of International Film Festivals during its release, including the Febiofest film festival in Prague 2018, the Sofia Film Festival and the BUFF film Festival

## Plot

A 6-year-old boy is awoken one night by his fisherman father heading to work. Finding it impossible to fall back to sleep, he draws a picture which he then slips into his satchel. On his way to school next morning, still drowsy, he wanders off the path and ends up lost in the snow. The boy gets on a train, ending up in a big city, and endeavours to find his way home.

## Cast

* Takara Kogawa as Little Boy
* Keiki Kogawa as sister
* Takashi Kogawa as Father
* Chisato Kogawa as Mother

## Production

The film was shot in location in Aomori, Japan, as a French-Japanese co-production. The film had no actual dialogue, with only the sounds of the actions of the main character.

## Festivals and awards

The film featured at a number of festivals including:

* 74th Venice International Film Festival in 2017.
* Febiofest Film Festival in Prague, 2018.
* Sofia International Film Festival
* BUFF International Film Festival
* San Sebastián International Film Festival
* São Paulo International Film Festival 2017
* Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema 2018.
* 27th Busan International Film Festival in 2022

The film was nominated for a number of awards, winning one:

* Ghent International Film Festival 2017 - Nominated Best Film
* IBAFF International Film Festival 2018 - Nominated Best Feature Film
* San Sebastián International Film Festival 2017 - nominated Zabaltegi prize.
* Tokyo Filmex 2017 - Winner Student prize, nominated Grand Prize.
* Venice Film Festival 2017 - Nominated Venice Horizons award

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 2017 | Venice Film Festival | Orizzonti awards | The Night I Swam | Nominated |
| 2017 | Tokyo Filmex | Student Jury Prize | The Night I Swam | Won |
| 2018 | International Film Festival for Children and Youth | Golden Butterfly for Best Feature Film Screenplay | Damien Manivel and Kohei Igarashi | Won |
