Just Another Live Tape

This is one of the films from the second installment of "Cinema☆Impact," a practical film workshop produced by director Masashi Yamamoto and featuring 13 up-and-coming film directors. Directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita of "The Drudgery Train," this mockumentary captures the lives of students making a film. The students lose the data for their graduation film. While helping a woman who has come from the Philippines searching for her mother, they decide to document her journey, but the filming takes an unexpected turn.

Directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita, Just Another Live Tape leans on a strong ensemble — Yoshitaka Hosokawa, Hiroki Otsu, Kenta Maeno — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about comedy titles of 2013.