Lost Land
Harà Watan
Akio Fujimoto · Japan, France, Malaysia, Germany · 2025 · 99 min
FEATURES COMPETITION
After living in a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh, four-year-old Shafi and his nine-year-old sister Somira embark on a perilous journey to Malaysia with a group of fellow Rohingya in the hope of reuniting with their scattered family. They spend seemingly endless days on an overcrowded smugglers’ boat until an incident at sea leaves them alone — and lost — in Thailand. But the kindness of the people they meet along the way, and their own indomitable spirit, reveal to them that they are never alone in the world, no matter how far from home.
Fiction · Drama · 15+
Language: Rohingya
Themes: Refugee, displacement, memory, childhood
Screenplay: Akio Fujimoto
Producer: Kazutaka Watanabe
Executive Producers: Mizue Kunizane, Shogo Yasukawa
Cinematographer: Yoshio Kitagawa
Key cast: Muhammad Shofik Rias Uddin, Shomira Rias Uddin
Director's Statement
Rather than being made within the conventional framework of a Japanese film, this work was created through a borderless collaboration involving Japan, which has a deep historical connection with Myanmar; Malaysia, where many Rohingya have sought refuge; and European countries where immigration issues are pressing and immediate.
Lost Land portrays the long journey of refugees through the eyes of children, blending the harsh reality with elements of fantasy. If cinema is an art form that can serve as a metaphor for “living together,” I hope that through this film, the Rohingya, who may seem distant to many, can feel closer to us, as neighbours, as friends.
— Akio Fujimoto, director of Lost Land