Tokyo Docs 2024: Welcome to our Bathhouse wins the Sunny Side of the Doc Prize

The fourteenth edition of Tokyo Docs recently concluded, running from 5 to 7 november 2024 at the Owlspot Theatre in Tokyo, Japan. This year's event featured in-person gatherings with more than 30 distinguished guests from Japan and abroad.

Seventeen project teams and filmmakers had the chance to pitch their work to a panel of international decision-makers. This year, the project Welcome to our bathhouse a Japanese documentary directed by Tommaso Barbetta and produced by Setsuya Kakinuma, won the Sunny Side of the Doc Special Prize. This award includes two complimentary accreditations to Sunny Side of the Doc 2025 and a waiver on the project submission fee.

"We're delighted to distinguish the Japanese project "Welcome to our bathhouse" for its unique, intimate look at a Japanese tradition (public baths) and its empathetic, caustic approach to a place threatened with closure. Singular, tender and unvarnished characters tell the story of Japanese society in their own way, enriching our global horizons.” says Aurélie Réman, Managing Director at Sunny Side of the Doc.

© Eizensha | Welcome to our Bathhouse

Welcome to Our Bathhouse tells the story of Ayako, a woman deeply rooted in the vanishing world of Japanese bathhouses, once central to relaxation and community life in Tokyo. Raised within this traditional setting, Ayako is determined to keep the legacy alive, especially as her family’s bathhouse teeters on the brink of closure in 2022. She quits her job and reopens the bathhouse, with support from her ailing father and a new owner. But the journey proves tougher than expected. A year later, Ayako is exhausted. Her father’s health is declining, and the new owner offers little assistance. Now, Ayako faces a heartrending choice: continue to fight alone or let the bathhouse close forever.

 

About the event

Tokyo Docs is an international event designed to support the overseas expansion of documentaries, including international co-productions. It allows Japanese and Asian documentary filmmakers to network with decision makers from Japan and abroad to help secure funding for Japanese and Asian documentaries’ production and support their broadcast, distribution, screening, and sales overseas.