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Set against the backdrop of Japan's 1980s economic boom, Mitsuo Yanagimachi's Fire Festival offers a haunting exploration of modernity, spirituality and humanity's increasingly fragile relationship with nature.

In a rural seaside village in Mie Prefecture, rugged lumberjack Tatsuo (Kin’ya Kitaoji) resists efforts to reshape the region through tourism development and the construction of a marine park. Deeply connected to the mountains, forests and local spiritual traditions, he finds himself increasingly isolated as economic pressures and generational shifts transform the community around him. As divisions deepen between mountain and sea dwellers, rumours spread and grievances simmer beneath the surface, with acts of sabotage and environmental degradation foreshadowing an eruption of violence.

Blending social commentary with mythic symbolism, Yanagimachi crafts a powerful reflection on the cost of progress while acknowledging the contradictions embedded within traditional life. Fire Festival's awe-inspiring imagery captures both the beauty and indifference of the natural world, while Tōru Takemitsu's eerie, hypnotic score drifts through the film like an unseen presence, heightening its atmosphere of melancholy and dread.

Widely considered a landmark of 1980s Japanese cinema, Fire Festival was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival, and remains a mesmerising portrait of a community suspended between ancient beliefs and an uncertain future.

Ages 15+ | Contains strong violence