Queer Figure Skating Coach Bonds with Young Pupils in Rural Japan

The moving coming-of-age drama "My Sunshine" is set to open in select theaters on September 19. The film, directed by Hiroshi Okuyama, was a 2024 Cannes Un Certain Regard nominee and could have been Japan's submission for the Best International Feature Oscar had the country not opted for Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Cloud" instead.

The story takes place one winter on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, where a young boy named Takuya has resigned himself to being the worst player on his ice hockey team. However, Takuya becomes transfixed by the figure skaters sharing the rink, particularly a rising star from Tokyo named Sakura. Sakura's coach, Arakawa, takes an interest in Takuya and pairs him up with Sakura to train them as a competitive ice-dancing duo. Although tentative at first, the two kids eventually form a deep bond with their supportive coach. But as the winter continues, unspoken feelings begin to surface, and the harmony the trio once knew starts to falter.