WE EXIST

Exploring the Lives of Japan’s LGBTQIA+ Community

Venue(s): The Millennials Shibuya
JST July 13 (Sat), 2024: 14:30 - 18:30
Language: English with Japanese subtitles, or Japanese dubbed version
Official website: www.instagram.com/wexistjapan/
Theater website: www.livelyhotels.com/ja/themillennialsshibuya/
Theater website: weexistjapan.peatix.com/
Tariff: Free entry, please register for your advance ticket

Title: 私たちの居場所 (Watashitachi no Ibasho)
Director: Felicity Tillack (フェリシティ・チラック)
Duration: 4 hours event. Details at the peatix site.

Kyoto-based Australian writer/photographer/filmmaker Felicity Tillack has been exploring Japanese culture and the concept of identity for nearly two decades via her blog and Youtube channel, Where Next Japan. With the bilingual We Exist, she now turns her lens on the LGBTQIA+ community in Japan, sharing stories from around the country to build awareness and greater understanding. There will be a one-time-only premiere screening in Tokyo on July 13, featuring Episode 1 in the documentary series.

We Exist mixes sit-down interviews with travel as it delves into personal stories about life as a queer person in Japan. Episode 1 is entitled Be Yourself, and begins in Tokyo before moving down to Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture. Along the way, series producer and host Tiffany Rossdale interviews activists, professors, cabaret hostesses, Shikoku’s first transgender city councilor, bar owners, their patrons, and people on the street — providing a platform for voices often unheard.

By capturing both personal and public aspects of these lives, the series aims to foster understanding and empathy as it illuminates the challenges and achievements of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Notes Tillack: “We Exist aims to share stories of hope and engagement, while giving an insight into the realities of being a marginalized population striving for access to their rights. Come along on a journey through Japan, hearing the voices of the LGBTQIA+ community, and, together, imagine a world where we all can exist.”

The Millennials Shibuya