Small, Slow But Steady

Shô Miyake’s powerful adaptation of Keiko Ogasawara’s memoir Makenaide! is a tender and meditative examination of both human fragility but also human resistance, set during the COVID 19 pandemic.

Filmed on gorgeous 16mm, the film follows Keiko (Yukino Kishii), a Deaf amateur boxer, as she trains for her upcoming fights in Tokyo. A hotel cleaner by day, Keiko trains each evening with her mentor in his boxing club. But when he falls ill, this, along with the impact of the pandemic, threatens the club with closure. As Keiko’s daily challenges begin to mount up, she finds herself rocked, as the solace and sense of herself she has established through boxing is now jeopardised.

Please note: Small, Slow But Steady is a New Audiences Initiative title, with extra supports available to programmers who screen the film.