Time travel, ambition and teen heartache mix in this exuberant coming-of-age comedy that celebrates friendship and our collective love of the movies.

High-schooler Barefoot is so obsessed with old chanbara – samurai movies – that she decides to make one of her own. But, in order to compete against her sugary, rom-com-loving rival Karin, Barefoot needs a star. Enter: the brooding, dreamy Rintaro, a fellow chanbara buff who also happens to be a secret time traveller from the future!

The delightfully whimsical feature debut from music video and commercials director Sōshi Matsumoto is sure to become a classic of the Japanese coming-of-age genre, deftly mixing teen romance and drama tropes with tongue-in-cheek humour and a ripple of sci-fi weirdness. Nostalgic and utterly charming, It’s a Summer Film! is an affirmation of the power of cinema to bring out everybody’s fighting best – and to bring people together.

“A charming, high-energy film that combines a host of genre delights.” – Forbes