Bestseller 'The Disease of Family' Appears on Screen Through the Camera of Genius Chika Ooyama ~ Comments Arrive from Talented Actors

【Director’s statement】“This film is 5 bullets to break the silence. It might cause a huge uproar when released, but that’s fine. I believe this is the kind of work needed in this era. How will 'The Disease of Family' strike your normalcy—please experience it.”

Do you truly know your closest family members? Or are you unaware of the truth? The disease of family; the film and the original work are different, which is precisely why new discoveries can be made. Akiko Shigesawa

A Film by Chika Ooyama

'The Disease of Family'

Original Work: Akiko Shigesawa (Gentosha Shinsho 'The Disease of Family') Director/Screenplay: Chika Ooyama

Synopsis

Based on Akiko Shigesawa's bestselling essay 'The Disease of Family,' director Chika Ooyama has adapted it into a crossover ensemble drama. The film visually captures the essence of the original work, which directly confronted Japan's 'family myth' and shattered family illusions at a time when terms like 'toxic parent' and 'dysfunctional family' were not yet common, all from the director's unique perspective.

Five independent episodes gradually overlap and connect, ultimately revealing the overall picture of 'The Disease of Family.' It depicts the exhilarating yet frightening liberation from the curse of 'I must do XX' that everyone carries, through black humor and extreme distortion.

Director's Directing Philosophy

● Does not shy away from either happy endings or violent revelations.

● Inserts extreme distortions into mundane daily life. This is the very rhythm of Shigesawa's essays.

● States facts plainly, like the temperature, without exaggerating emotions. Underlying this is passion and resolve.

● Does not allow the audience simple emotional processing like 'I cried' or 'I felt refreshed.' It confronts them with the confusion of 'I don't know how I should feel.' That is the correct reaction.

● While retaining the coldness of the original work, its unyielding stance, its strength in not being dictated by 'shoulds,' and the cruelty of family ties, it has been 'translated' from literature into the different language of film.

● Rather than a 'faithful reproduction,' it layers episodes to 'keep the original work alive,' leading to gradual realization. The aim is to create an experience where, after watching, questions like 'What is family?', 'What is parent-child relationship?', 'How should I live?' remain, and what is taken for granted crumbles with a sound.

The closest people (family) are the most cruel. Ten years have passed since Akiko Shigesawa shattered family illusions. The disease of the original work now festers further on screen. The shocking black comedy 'The Disease of Family,' which directly challenges modern Japanese 'family worship,' will be released sequentially nationwide, starting at Uplink Kichijoji, Ikebukuro HUMAX Cinemas, and other locations.

The original work is a bestseller by Akiko Shigesawa, with millions of copies sold.

This controversial work, which caused a significant stir across Japan upon its release, has been eagerly brought to the big screen by former fashion advertising photographer Chika Ooyama.

With her sharp photographic eye and refined visual beauty, she has created an ensemble drama filled with black humor and unsettling tension.

Director Ooyama's unique style, a blend of laughter and creepiness, depicts the collapse and madness of those who continue to perform 'ideal families.'

Starring: Takahiro Fujimoto, Tomiko, Eri Watanabe, Keisuke Koide, Ai Tsubakihara, Wakaba Hiroi, Ken Terajima

《STORY》

Junichiro Tahara (Takahiro Fujimoto), a popular mystery novelist, has his life dominated by his intense wife, Mariko (Tomiko), leaving his true talent dormant. Yuuji Matsubara (Ken Terajima), a former elite salaryman, continues to play the role of a senior executive to avoid disappointing his mother, even after retirement. He maintains a life of pretense while raising his son, who has become a shut-in. Meanwhile, Maria Kuroki (Wakaba Hiroi), attending a prestigious girls' high school, is cornered as rumors spread throughout the school that her mother, Reiko (Ai Tsubakihara), is an AV actress.

Appearing before the pretense and deception faced by these three families is Fujita Mori (Keisuke Koide), a new writer who won a literary award for his works themed around nudity. A homeless woman (Eri Watanabe), living freely in a park, appears quietly as a being entirely separate from them.

Is it the confinement of stability, or the freedom of solitude—on a stormy night, their destinies collide violently.

Episode 1: The Man Who Created Literature from His Crotch and Reached the Top

A erotica novelist writes while sticking his face into a woman's crotch, using it for inspiration. He wins the Yabuki Award with his novel, but declares, 'There are no happy families anywhere.'

Regarding the sex scenes in this work and the sex scenes favored by the new writer Fujita Mori—Fujita Mori does not view women as objects of sex. Sex is the same act regardless of who performs it. He shows no interest in such things. His novels thrust his unique eroticism onto the reader.

Episode 1: The Man Who Created Literature from His Crotch and Reached the Top

Episode 1: The Man Who Created Literature from His Crotch and Reached the Top

Episode 1: The Man Who Created Literature from His Crotch and Reached the Top

Episode 2: The Man Who Swings a Butterfly Net Out of Vanity

The man who continues to play the role of 'executive' even after retirement. Every morning, he has his wife make him a bento, leaves the house in a suit, and swings a butterfly net on a hill. The vanity of not wanting to disappoint his mother, and his mother's complicity in 'It's fine as long as you're respectable.' It's comical yet painfully heartbreaking, right in the midst of the family's disease.

Episode 2: The Man Who Swings a Butterfly Net Out of Vanity

Episode 2: The Man Who Swings a Butterfly Net Out of Vanity

Episode 2: The Man Who Swings a Butterfly Net Out of Vanity

Episode 1: The Man Who Created Literature from His Crotch and Reached the Top

Episode 3: Mother and Daughter Sinking into the Sea A daughter bound by the 'lady' path laid out by her AV actress mother. The reason for 'papa-katsu' is not 'money.' Despair at only being able to speak her true self to older men. Both mother and daughter realize there is no escape and quietly sink into the sea, saying, 'Mom, thank you for everything.' Peaceful despair, cruel suicide born of love.

Episode 3: Mother and Daughter Sinking into the Sea

Episode 3: Mother and Daughter Sinking into the Sea

Episode 3: Mother and Daughter Sinking into the Sea

Episode 4: The Formulaic Novelist Who Gave Up After Being Struck by Lightning

A man who has been repeating the bestseller series 'Detective Konran' for decades. Being popular is his safe zone, and simultaneously his prison. His wife knows, his daughter knows. But no one speaks of it. The family gently envelops 'Dad who writes formulaic stories.' This is the form of 'family.'

Conversation with daughter: 'Is money all you want?' 'What's wrong with that?'—Both are right and painful.

The man faces the limits of his talent and chooses the happiness of resignation within his family's kindness, thinking, 'This is fine.'

The man in Episode 1 was still putting on airs; the mother and daughter in Episode 2 escaped by dying together. But this man no longer flees. He chooses to give up, accept, and live 'peacefully' within that.

No one dies. No one breaks. They simply repeat the formulaic routine, quietly, forever.

...This might be the most common 'form of family' in Japan. The most frightening form of disease. Quiet despair seeps into the audience's hearts.

Episode 4: The Formulaic Novelist Who Gave Up After Being Struck by Lightning

Episode 4: The Formulaic Novelist Who Gave Up After Being Struck by Lightning

Episode 4: The Formulaic Novelist Who Gave Up After Being Struck by Lightning

Episode 4: The Formulaic Novelist Who Gave Up After Being Struck by Lightning

Episode 5: The Homeless Woman Who Disappeared Leaving a Cup of Sake

A woman outside the family. She looks after other people's children, listens to them, and survives on bentos. When the typhoon comes, she disappears, leaving only an empty cup of sake in the sandbox. A child's word, 'Maybe the aunt was lonely,' ends it. No one looks for her, no one grieves, she simply vanishes. The ultimate distortion, clearly highlighting the cruelty of the family circle.

Episode 5: The Homeless Woman Who Disappeared Leaving a Cup of Sake

Episode 2: The Man Who Swings a Butterfly Net Out of Vanity

Episode 1: The Man Who Created Literature from His Crotch and Reached the Top

Episode 5: The Homeless Woman Who Disappeared Leaving a Cup of Sake

A woman outside the family. She looks after other people's children, listens to them, and survives on bentos. When the typhoon comes, she disappears, leaving only an empty cup of sake in the sandbox. A child's word, 'Maybe the aunt was lonely,' ends it. No one looks for her, no one grieves, she simply vanishes. The ultimate distortion, clearly highlighting the cruelty of the family circle.

Comments from the Cast

Chika Ooyama, standing between genius and eccentricity, has planned and filmed this movie solely with her sensibility.

There have been countless disagreements with the staff and intense debates with the actors... However, this avant-garde sensibility, bordering on madness, is not something everyone possesses, and her talent was indispensable for 'The Disease of Family.'

Above all, she possesses unfathomable love, and a fierce passion and conviction for her work.

Her passion, surpassing all others, was terrifying and intimidating, but it has become a great asset to me to have been able to create this work with such an endearing director.

She pursued her desired shots, colors, emotions like passion, resentment, oppression, and liberation to her satisfaction within the constraints, patiently waiting for the weather, light, and the actors' feelings to shoot. The scene of the large tree and my nude body, shot almost in one take, is particularly memorable.

This work, created by fully demonstrating her immeasurable talent bestowed from heaven, will surely captivate viewers with Director Ooyama's mysterious worldview and serve as a catalyst for contemplating 'family.' Takahiro Fujimoto

There are hardships unique to family, and there are relatable parts, making me reflect on my own family relationships.

I realized the importance of appropriate distance.

Konatsu Ikko

I played Reiko.

Children may be living reflections of their parents.

Even if you want to cherish them,

Even if you intend to act on it,

It is rarely conveyed to the other person.

However, I believe the truth within Reiko was simply love for her child. Ai Tsubakihara

I feel that 'family' can sometimes be a support, and sometimes a clingy presence like a disease. It is ambiguous, troublesome, yet I believe it is something that undeniably exists.

Please come to the theater to experience the film 'The Disease of Family' and feel its raw temperature. Kokoro Toyoshima

I am not a film critic, so I will leave the content of the film itself to others and talk about the behind-the-scenes production. Several years ago, a stylist I know asked me, 'My friend is making a movie, can you help?' That's how I met Director Ooyama. My first impression was, 'What a wild director!' But even more than that, her passion to 'create good visuals' was tremendous, and I was drawn in by that power and decided to help. The filming took place, I believe, during the time of the global pandemic a few years ago. We had many discussions with the director, and there were times we couldn't do what we wanted due to budget issues, making me keenly aware of how difficult it is to create a work. The fact that this film is now complete and being released in theaters is a testament to the director's power. To touch on the content briefly, it is not a work that will appeal to everyone. The interpretation will vary from person to person. Those who know the original work might enjoy comparing it. Personally, I have been involved in the production of various things, but this was my first time producing a film, so I am grateful for the valuable experience. Kazuo "Deka" Nishino

(Assistant Producer)

I loved Akiko Shigesawa's book 'The Disease of Family,' so I was surprised when I heard this work was being made into a movie and even more so when I was cast.

I remember reading it all at once, relating to the family problems and detailed realism that exist in every household.

Please watch the filmed version as well. Tomiko

Stage Greeting Information

July 4 (Sat) Uplink Kichijoji Screening 13:30~ Talk 15:46~30 min Guests: Director Chika Ooyama

July 5 (Sun) Uplink Kichijoji Screening 13:30~ Talk 15:46~30 min Guests: Naoki Sakai (Producer), Chieko Matsumoto (Stylist), Director Chika Ooyama, Moderator: Shizuko Mizuta

July 10 (Fri) Uplink Kyoto Director Chika Ooyama

Screening Theaters

[Tokyo] Uplink Kichijoji 6.26~

[Tokyo] Humax Ikebukuro 6.26~

[Nagano] Sengoku Theater 7.3~

[Kanagawa] Humax Yokosuka 7.10~

[Kyoto] Uplink Kyoto 7.10~

[Yamagata] Movie On Yamagata 7.10~

[Osaka] Dai Nana Geijutsu Gekijo 7.11~

[Tochigi] Oyama Cinema Role 7.24~

~Aiming for nationwide distribution~

SOUNDTRACK: Masashi Shinozaki | Hisashi Shinozaki

Theme Song "Psycho" Vocals: TASUKU HATANAKA Lyrics: Kanata Okajima Music: Jeff Miyahara Label: Lantis

【STAFF】 Original Work: Akiko Shigesawa 'The Disease of Family' Gentosha Shinsho Director/Screenplay: Chika Ooyama Cinematography: Osamu Ichikawa Music: Masashi Shinozaki AR: Kazuhiko Tomita MA: Akihiko Okase Theme Song: 'Psycho' Tasuku Hatanaka Label: Lantis Lyrics: Kanata Okajima / Music: Jeff Miyahara Production Company: Tokyomuse films LLC Distribution: Cinemago 2026 / Japan / DCP / 96 min / Color / Cinemascope / 5.1ch / Eirin G © 'The Disease of Family' Production Committee

Screenplay/Director: Chika Ooyama Ending Theme "PSYCHO" Music: Jeff Miyahara

Director of Photography: Osamu Ichikawa Soundtrack: Masashi Shinozaki

Chika Ooyama Biography

Born in Shimoichi Town, Yoshino District, Nara Prefecture.

Education

Completed Graduate Studies, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts.

Completed Graduate Studies, Goldsmiths, University of London.

Began modeling in her teens. While in high school, she studied ballet and jazz dance alongside the ski club, and worked as a model during her university years. After dropping out of university (Faculty of Letters, Department of Philosophy, Gakushuin University), she moved to London alone. While attending a ballet school in Covent Garden, she became interested in photography through her modeling work and learned the techniques on her own. She was soon entrusted with shoots for British magazines such as 'VOGUE' and '19.'

On one occasion, she began photographing nudes, a practice she has continued to this day. Her work was featured in the Japanese specialized magazine 'Commercial Photo,' leading to a surge in job requests from Japan. What was intended as a temporary return turned into her basing her activities in Tokyo.

After returning to Japan, she was active as an advertising photographer, primarily in commercials. She handled advertisements for major companies such as Shiseido, Toyota, Coca-Cola, and Suntory, and received the Asahi Advertising Award in 1986.

In parallel, she focused on art activities. She created the multimedia installation series 'Sounds Heard in Afterimages,' which fused photography, darkness, and music. Using materials from her unique fieldwork, such as scenes of cremation and bathing on the banks of the Ganges River in India, and natural sounds from the Malaysian rainforest, she explored human views on life and death and the afterimages of memory. Her collaborations with musicians such as Eitetsu Hayashi and Masashi Shinozaki earned her high praise both domestically and internationally as 'art in complete darkness.'

Major Performances and Exhibitions

Silence = Avant Gard sound heard amidst afterimages (ICA Gallery, London) H2O Avant Gard sounds heard amidst afterimages (Fine Art Society) Maison du Japon, Paris Sounds Heard in Afterimages - Sanctuary (Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre) *Sold out for 2 days Sounds Heard in Afterimages - R (Theatre X) Sounds Heard in Afterimages - Silence (Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Kyoto) Other works related to the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, etc.

She then moved back to London and was a researcher at the University of London. After returning to Japan, she expanded her activities from photography to video expression, and began producing short and feature films in 2008.

Her first feature film, 'My Name is Lucien' (2022), was based on an actual incident in Zama. Starring Shuntaro Yanagi, it was screened at Eurospace and other venues. Since then, she has continued to energetically release works that depict human inner lives and families from her unique perspective, including 'Last Ecstasy' (starring Hikari Mitsushima) and her latest film 'The Disease of Family' (based on an essay by Akiko Shigesawa), scheduled for release in June 2026.

Chika Ooyama Filmography

【Filmography】 2006: 'Fever,' a video combining rainforest and flesh, filmed in the Malaysian rainforest. 2007: Released the short video 'Playing Alone,' themed around dangerous solo play. 2008: Debuted as a short film director with 'The Undertaker's Man,' themed around life, death, and sex. 2009: Released her second short film, 'Last Ecstasy' (starring Hikari Mitsushima), themed around online suicide pacts. 2023: Debuted as a feature film director with 'My Name is Lucien.' The film was theatrically released at Eurospace and won the Audience Award at the MED Film Festival. 2026: Her second feature film, 'The Disease of Family,' will be released nationwide at Uplink Kichijoji, Ikebukuro HUMAX Cinemas, and other locations.

Poster for the film 'The Disease of Family'