WITH YOU

A woman shovels snow across an Akita winter landscape, right to left.
She makes her way, slowly clearing a path.
Snow falls from the roof.
Just as she exits frame left, a machine enters from frame right.
A man with a snow blower.
He moves almost effortlessly, the blower humming loudly as he travels across the landscape, right to left.
It takes him less than half the time to clear the same path.

It is 6 am in Japan.

The entire shot is completely unchoreographed - a documented moment of daily life captured in February 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared on March 11, 2020.

The passing time is punctuated with a moment where a woman checks her wristwatch at the Odate Amekko Ichi Candy Festival in Akita, Japan.

This festival is said to have started around 400 years ago at a market held near Odate Castle. According to the locals, the famous Shirohige Okami (God of White Beard), would come down the mountain to buy candy from this market. He didn’t want humans to know he was visiting, so after he returned to the mountain, he created a snowstorm to cover his footprints. The Odate Candy Festival is held every year on the second Saturday and Sunday of February on the main street. Legend has it that eating candy from the festival will ward off catching a cold for the rest of winter. There is an old saying in Odate: “If you don’t eat candy, you’ll turn into a worm.” The saying gradually became “If you eat candy, you won’t catch a cold.”

The final floating frame captures the empty stage of the candy festival in Japan while Con te partirò (With You, I Shall Depart) plays through the streets to mark the end of the event. In 1996, the song was sung partly in English by Sarah Brightman and became one of the best-selling singles of all time. It was released as a duet under the title: Time to Say Goodbye. Bocelli also recorded a full Spanish version of the song in 1997, titled Por ti volaré (For You I Will Fly). I Will Go with You, is the title of the dance version performed by American singer Donna Summer, which went to number one on the US dance chart in 1999.

The lyrics for Con te partirò were written by Lucio Quarantotto, who committed suicide on July 31, 2012, at the age of 55, when he threw himself from the sixth floor of his apartment in Mestre, where he lived with his elderly mother.

The literal translation of the Italian title, Con te partirò is I will leave with you. The Italian lyrics convey the feelings of separation, loss, longing, and acceptance. The song starts with the mention of being alone and the absence of words and then goes on to describe the darkness of a room without sunshine and emphasizes how the presence of a loved one can light up even the darkest corners. It speaks to the profound connection between two individuals and the impact they have on each other’s lives.

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Video available for screening - Please send a request on the contact page.

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