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Logline

Over a single continually unfolding shot, we witness two distinct moments – twenty years apart – in the life of a Japanese-American couple as their relationship is transformed following the tragic death of their son.

Synopsis

The film unfolds over two timelines – 2025 and 2045.

In 2025, NATHAN and AYAKO LEVIN, a happily married couple in their late 40s, host a summer barbecue at their lakehouse. The story floats between guests and family members – their withdrawn teenage son JONAH; Nathan’s philosophizing older brother ARI; neighbors GABBY and TERRY. Conversations overlap and fragment.

Amid the small talk, tensions surface. Ayako tries to reach Jonah. Terry confides his financial worries. Ari flirts shamelessly with Gabby. But throughout it all, Nathan and Ayako remain in sync, confident that they understand one another as fully as two people can. Life has been kind to them.

Yet unseen by all, Jonah has taken the family canoe, and drowned. Whether accident or suicide is never known.

Twenty years pass in an instant.

It is now 2045. Nathan and Ayako, now in their 70s, return to the lakehouse one last time before Nathan sells it. Their marriage ended long ago under the weight of grief, though for years they returned on Jonah’s birthday – until even that stopped.

This second half follows Nathan and Ayako through their final night in the lakehouse. Ayako remarried and divorced again, and has drifted through so many new lives that now, her past years with Nathan feel dreamlike.

Packing, Nathan finds a small jizō statue in Jonah’s room. Ayako recognizes it from her own childhood. Unmoored from her past, she lashes out, taunting Nathan about his mortality and questioning if they ever truly knew their son.

Nathan leaves her alone. Something in her shifts. She looks across the room – directly at us – as if seeing a ghost.

Outside, Canadian forest fires have scorched the horizon, and the lake has an almost alien beauty. Nathan and Ayako row their canoe into the sunrise.

 

Meet the Filmmakers

Jun Kuromiya —Writer/Director
Jun grew up in Massachusetts, spending time every year with his grandparents in Hamamatsu, Japan, and making films with Daniel as children. He graduated from Princeton University in 2014 with a degree in philosophy and then embarked on a journey to train in Zen Buddhism while making experimental short films. He visited temples and monasteries across the U.S. and Japan and spent many weeks in formal retreat.

He made his first narrative short film after college in 2020, Irises, about two Japanese-American sisters in the wake of their mother’s funeral. The film was a Remi Award Winner at the Houston International Film Festival and one of the Judges’ Select films in the Tokyo Lift-Off Film Festival. Jun recently completed his next short, Kurozuka, which is an adaptation of a 15th century Noh play. He worked with Noh specialists around the world to realize it. Since then, he has co-written Morning on the Lake with Daniel while training to become a manual therapist and energy worker.

Daniel Lewinstein — Writer/Director
Daniel is a British-American filmmaker based in New York. He and Jun are lifelong friends, and grew up making movies together after school. After studying at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, Daniel has worked as an editor on independent films, and has worked with artists including iconic New York photographer Eric Johnson.

He has had the opportunity to work on high-profile documentaries, and his film Kissing Ralph, a queer horror film, has screened at festivals internationally, including the Brussels Independent Film Festival and Cannes International Film Week. He is particularly committed to depicting the LGBTQ+ experience in his films, and also edited Expatriate Dreamer, a docufiction film about Russian LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, which screened at NewFest, Queer Lisboa, and the Images Festival, among other places. His documentary work has given him the opportunity to travel extensively, including lengthy projects in China, Italy, and the UK. In 2022 Daniel was selected for the D5in10 Academy, sponsored by Droga5. He also writes and performs music under the name Cheeky Bugger.

Brandy Wang — Producer
Brandy Wang is an emerging creative producer and independent film curator whose work bridges cinema, community, and cultural exchange. She is the founder of Sorry Not Sorry, a U.S.-based curatorial platform that uplifts underrepresented Asian and diasporic voices, and currently serves as Co-Director of Programming at CineCina Film Festival. Her curatorial practice spans experimental film, transnational Asian cinema, queer cinema, and indigenous and ethnographic media, with past collaborations including Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, New York Asian Film Festival, Film at Japan Society, and Shanghai Queer Film Festival.

Brandy is deeply committed to supporting intersectional storytelling that centers embodied experiences of underrepresented communities. She holds an M.A. in Media, Culture, and Communication from New York University, where her research focused on media representations of immigration, gender, and sexuality. As a first-time feature film producer with a strong foundation in curation and nonprofit organizing, she is excited to apply her extensive experience in creative development, audience building, and community engagement strategies to her producing practice.

Lailanie Gadia — Producer
Raised in Guam, Lailanie Gadia is a Filipina American community builder, producer, and financial professional based in Los Angeles. She recently founded her film company, Mango Stories, to bring impactful stories to life. She is the Operations Director at the Asian American Documentary Network, supporting 1,900+ film workers where she helped series produce Emmy-nominated and Silver Anthem award-winning 2022 Asian American Stories of Resilience and Beyond shorts.

Lailanie is producing 2024 CAAM Fellow and Pitch winner Rafael Bitanga’s Bridging our Stories, and 2025 CAPE Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge Grantee Rachel Leyco’s Milk & Honey, along with several feature projects in development. Additionally, her producing credits include Third Act (Sundance 2025) and Dive Bar (Alaska Airlines).

Lailanie was named a 2023 Documentary New Leader and participated in the 2021-2022 Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics Impact program. She graduated from Loyola Marymount University and serves on the API Alumni Association board. She is also a proud member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia, Film Independent, Gold House Futures Network, Global Impact Producers Alliance and the Documentary Producers Alliance. She previously had a six-year career in mortgage banking and remains a financial professional passionate about financial well-being.

Daqian Cao — Project Manager
Daqian Cao “Da” is a Los Angeles-based producer and project manager working across film, architecture, and exhibition design. His work focuses on translating complex ideas into clear visual and spatial narratives, bridging disciplines through collaboration and research-driven production.

With a background in curatorial practice, design, and project management, Da has led multidisciplinary teams in the planning and realization of international exhibitions and cultural projects. He approaches film production with the same emphasis on structure, visual language, and conceptual depth—integrating architectural thinking and narrative form to shape compelling audience experiences.

Da holds master’s degrees in Project Management and in Critical, Curatorial, and Conceptual Practices in Architecture, as well as a Bachelor of Architecture. His practice centers on developing creative projects that move fluidly between visual art, built space, and moving image.

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Contact

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