Musuta Kusaka's Everyday Journey with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Japan

They show a wedding reception movie at a film festival?

I thought it must be some kind of mistake. If it was true, it would be the end of the world. However, the flyer for the film festival did say it. “Wedding reception movie (5 minutes).” The film festival in question was the Sapporo LGBTQ Film Festival 2022. It was held in September 2022.

I used to be an editor and writer for a wedding magazine.
So I’m proud to say that I’ve seen more videos of weddings and wedding receptions than most people. I ‘m not moved by anything. It’s sad, but maybe it’s an aftereffect of an occupational hazard. I’m a bit tired of watching videos of couples I’ve never met. That’s how it is. I heard that this will be screened at a film festival.

I can’t make it to Sapporo, but I’m suddenly interested in this wedding reception video.
According to the flyer, the two people who appear to have made the video have a YouTube channel. I searched for it and found it right away. Here it is.

So , this is what I thought after watching it. I was really moved…

This is a proper movie, I thought.I guess the genre is “life”.
There is no enemy. There is no crisis or tragedy. It’s just five minutes of sheer happiness. But the film has lines between the lines that make you feel that they must have overcome a lot of things together.

Yes. I shed tears.
The pores on both my arms were like a standing ovation. In other words, I got goosebumps and cried refreshingly.
…And that was quite early on. I feel ashamed of myself for being cynical and thinking, “I’m getting tired of these videos.” It’s a composition of a cocky boxer who gets knocked out in the first round.

I know it’s extremely rude (or rather, crazy) to talk about a wedding reception movie of someone I’ve never met based on my imagination, but I really wanted to write my thoughts about it. So, I’d like to write it down here. Because. That’s how wonderful it was.

(In consideration of their privacy, the captions do not include or are blurred to include attendees other than the two main characters. In case, by some twist of fate, they happen to notice them… Sorry for writing and capturing them without permission. I will delete them immediately upon receiving your comment.)

18 seconds into the ceremony, she said, “Oh no… (tears).” What was most memorable was the “eye contact” between the two grooms and the well wishes.

Of course, the two grooms are the main focus of the movie. It’s a record of the day of the wedding and reception. There’s an introduction between the two families, then they make their entrance, their friends and colleagues greet them, they change clothes, exchange rings, take their vows, and then they leave while being congratulated by everyone. The structure of the ceremony was quite orthodox.

But there was one thing that made me lame.
There was no footage of the morning of the day, or of the waiting room. In other words, there were no private, off-shot shots that only the two of them knew about.
(This may be commonplace for young people today)
Since it’s a memorable day to celebrate the start of a new life, you’d normally want to include some human emotion.
But that’s not the case.

Instead, they always seemed to be looking at their relatives and guests. This is proof that they care about everyone.

Of course, the main focus is on the two grooms, and the film follows the events of the day, but the camera carefully captures the faces of the relatives and guests from a comfortable distance. You can also see the couple smiling back at them and crying back. They talk to each other with their eyes, so much so that their mutual glances seem to float in the air.

In other words, I realized that this wedding reception video is not a film of the reception itself, but a film of the exchange of feelings between the well-wishers who gathered there. Perhaps we could call it an enviable relationship of trust.

Maybe that’s why everyone cries. The two main characters cry. The friends cry. The colleagues cry. The parents don’t cry as much as you’d expect. Weddings and receptions are such occasions, but even so, everyone cries a lot.

Of course, this is natural and a common, heartwarming scene.If we consider the fact that they are a gay couple as a supporting line, our imaginations begin to run wild with what lies behind the tears. What twists and turns and hardships did they face before reaching this day?

Also, what laughter, joy and courage did they experience?
Things that they can talk about with a smile now.
Things that make them tearful even when they think about them now. But today, they shed tears of joy.

“All I can say is congratulations!”

This is probably what they mean when they say it is filled with deep emotion (well, this is just a fantasy, after all).

And I was knocked out 18 seconds into the film. So fast.
It was the scene where they were introducing their families to each other’s relatives.

“Oh no, this is no good,”

I thought. My tear ducts had already broken down. My nose was stuffy.

It was a normal introduction of the relatives. Very normal.
But that normality, or rather, it’s precisely because it’s normal, that it’s good. The sight of the parents and relatives greeting each other with such lovely expressions
touched my heart, and I just cried. I cried so much that I knew I shouldn’t cry because I’m an adult now.

I don’t have to lie and say I used to be an editor for a wedding magazine, but as you get older and attend various weddings, you start to understand. It happens sometimes. A wedding reception where both parents are absent.
A marriage without the blessing of their parents.
I know that not everyone can resolve their friction and grudges and make it to the day.

So I thought, “Oh, I’m so glad. That’s the important part.”

For some reason, I felt relieved watching it. Not really. I think that when it comes to marriage, it should be up to the couple to decide.
Even parents shouldn’t interfere or at least try to stop them.
But. Somehow, the two main characters look like they were raised with love from their parents.
If that’s the case, I want the wedding reception to be something they can truly be happy about.
(This is getting all jumbled up with delusions, parental feelings, and nosyness.)

The parents and relatives may have many thoughts running through their minds. It’s not surprising if that’s the case. Apparently, the
two grooms swore a Fukuoka City Partnership in 2018, but I was also an editor in Fukuoka Prefecture. So, aside from personal understanding or lack of understanding, I can somehow sense the “masculinity” that runs through a certain generation of Kyushu society.

However. He didn’t seem to be aware of that, and looked as if he placed the happiness of the couple above all else.
Of course, I’m just a stranger who is commenting from an outside perspective, so I have no idea what kind of history they went through at home. Even so.

The face of the father, nodding his head, watching over his son and his wife, was a mixture of pride, relief, loneliness, and prayer, just like the expressions of the parents I’ve seen so far . (Oh, I’m getting teary-eyed again as I write this…) Just being able to capture that expression makes this video a masterpiece. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that.

You know what? There are scenes like that here and there. It’s five minutes long. It’s just five minutes, and it’s 100% euphoric. It’s a geyser of euphoria. I’m not sure what I’m saying anymore, but I can say with confidence that I want everyone to see it. Please do watch it!

The venue and the planner’s sense is brilliant. Without that person, the film festival quality would not have been achieved.

It may seem trivial, but it’s actually very important, but the venue was stylish! Great taste! To be honest, this also helped. Seriously. I’m just capturing the screen from a video, so it’s frustrating and regretful that this beauty is a little blurry.

If it wasn’t for this reception venue, it probably wouldn’t have been of a quality to be shown at a film festival.
That’s how beautiful the venue is. It makes a great picture.

Fukuoka was once famous for its sophisticated reception venues. Maybe it still is today. Ah, it’s not necessarily true that they got married in Fukuoka.

Also, I thought it must have been rewarding for the wedding planner.

Needless to say, wedding planners are important in weddings. In film, they are the scriptwriter, director, director, and producer. A wedding is also a purchase worth millions of yen. The success of a wedding depends entirely on the skill of the wedding planner (if you get the wrong person, it will be a disaster…).

Moreover, unfortunately, gay weddings have not yet taken root in Japan. I thought that it would be difficult to hold a
wedding without a wedding planner who has intellect, sensitivity, social skills, economic sense, and hospitality. So I thought that this must be a very skilled planner.

But it might be a surprisingly standard progression. I hope so. I just hope that the day will come soon when this kind of wedding reception becomes “ordinary.”

The two main characters are Masataro and Pantaro. The wedding reception video is from their YouTube channel.

The grooms in this wedding reception video are apparently called Masataro and Pantaro.

The flyer for the film festival said, “Freedom of Marriage for All: Plaintiff in Kyushu” and “2018 Fukuoka City Partnership Pledge.” Well, it would be rude, or disrespectful, to pry any further into their profile. It’s not hard to imagine that the two of them, together, have overcome many things. Is that enough?