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RAI FILM Festival takes place on 27-30 March 2025. Learn more.

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We Don’t Need A Grave

2014 – 27'

Synopsis

We Don’t Need a Grave’ attempts to show how the people who choose Shizenso rather than the typical family grave try to accept one’s death. Shizenso is a natural mortuary practice that has no religious affiliation. It involves scattering cremation ashes of the deceased in the ocean and mountains. During the 1990s in Japan, Shizenso emerged as a citizen movement due to the changes in social attitudes towards family and religion. The film recounts stories of members from Grave-Free-Promotion Society (GFPS) who practise Shizenso. It explores not only this unique practice of saying goodbye to one’s beloved ones but also the mixed emotions of those who practise it.

RAI FILM Festival 2025

The next RAI FILM Festival will take place in person from 27-30 March 2025 at the Watershed Cinema and the Arnolfini International Centre for Contemporary Arts in Bristol (UK) and online throughout the month of April 2025.