Movie: Hotaru no haka (1988)
“Setsuko and Seita are brother and sister living in wartime Japan. After their mother is killed in an air raid they find a temporary home with relatives. Having quarreled with their aunt they leave the city and make their home in an abandoned shelter. While their father’s destiny who was a soldier is unknown the two must depend on each other to somehow keep a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs. When everything is in short supply, they gradually succumb to hunger and their only entertainment is the light of the fireflies. Written by Corrected by Liron”
- Director: Isao Takahata
- Release Date: 16 April 1988 (Japan)
- Run Time: 89 min | Germany:85 min (DVD version)
- Country: Japan
- Genre: Animation , Drama , War
Trivia: From the start of production, director Isao Takahata wanted to cast appropriately aged children in the roles of Seita and Setsuko. Because the film takes place in Kobe, the search was limited to the Kansai region of Japan in order to find children that spoke the proper dialect. He was introduced to Ayano Shiraishi through a regional children’s acting company, and decided to cast her as Setsuko after only hearing two sentences: “My name is Ayano Shriraishi. I am five years old.” He was later told by one of the company’s leaders that they expected Ayano was too young for the role, and so those were the only lines she had been instructed to recite in the audition.