SUNDAY IN JAPAN

"Ugandan Jackie Chan" Sunday creates action scenes drawn from his life as an asylum-seeker in Tokyo. 

Status: Early Production Directed by Leo Nelki Produced by Moon Road Films Co-produced by Elda Productions Supported by Creative Europe

Short synopsis:

Sunday is a Ugandan man in his fifties. He has been an asylum-seeker in Japan for nearly 15 years. Leo, an exchange student from the UK moves in with him and the idea for a documentary is born. Inspired by Wakaliwood, a Ugandan style of action movies, and together with the local Japanese community, they begin filming scenes born out of Sunday’s experiences in Japan. Faced with the constant threat of detention or deportation, and with no permission to work or travel, Sunday at first suggests ideas that reflect this harsh reality that he has lived with for over a decade.

But as he becomes accustomed to his new position as an action-movie director, Sunday shifts his focus away from scenes inspired by fear and begins to depict a surreal, imagined future in Japan. The scenes become elaborate, and Sunday involves more of the community around him.