When we took a trip to Shari in March, 2025 in preparation for this release, the community that Yoshigai built when shooting the film welcomed us like old friends. It became clear that, today, in no small part due to projects like Yoshigai’s own film, the town is a very self-aware of its own history and unique cultural position, seemingly interested in reinventing itself beyond official histories and incentivized by a government keen on keeping the area’s economy active.