Aliens, Dinosaurs and a Father’s Death: ‘Kefi’ Director Saito Kisin Brings a Surreal Take on Grief to Tokyo

By Kambole Campbell

Kambole Campbell

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Likely the strangest entry at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival, the surreal “Kefi,” the debut feature by cinematographer Saito Kisin, mixes multiple short stories and multiple styles to make sense of the feelings around a complicated relationship with his late father.

It doesn’t get there through the signifiers one might anticipate: there are aliens, dinosaurs, dream affairs and more across the film’s compact runtime. “Kefi” plays in the festival’s Nippon Cinema Now section.

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