Numakage Public Pool

For more than 50 years, the public Numakage swimming pool in Saitama has been an important meeting place for people of all ages and backgrounds. When the pool is set to make way for an urban redevelopment project, local resistance begins to grow. As the final opening day approaches, the disappearance of the pool becomes unavoidable, and a wave of grief spreads through the community. Director Shingo Ota powerfully portrays how people say goodbye to a place that has shaped their lives. To express different stages of grief, he blurs the boundaries between documentary and artistic storytelling.