Part of the 2026 season: Knowing Me, Knowing You
Love Doesn't Matter to Me
Aisarenakute mo betsuni, 愛されなくても別に
Director IGASHI Aya
Cast MINAMI Sara, BABA Fumika, HONDA Miyu, MOTOI Shunsuke
2025, 109 min, English subtitles
University student MIYATA Hiiro (MINAMI Sara) describes her life as “crappy”. Between classes, housework, and part-time shifts at a convenience store, she struggles to cover both her tuition, and the household expenses left to her by her spendthrift single mother (KAWAI Aoba). Hiiro feels trapped and cursed by her mother’s so-called “love”.
Everything changes after she meets ENAGA Miyabi (BABA Fumika), a classmate rumored to be the daughter of a murderer and a victim of her mother’s abuse. Hiiro starts to recognise that Miyabi’s pain is like her own — but Miyabi’s dark and loveless childhood runs far deeper. Soon, they get to know KIMURA Akua (HONDA Miyu), another classmate suffering psychological strain from an overbearing mother and devoted to a cult religion. One day, Akua tries to introduce Hiiro and Miyabi to the world of calm and affection that the group claims to offer.
Directed by rising filmmaker IGASHI Aya, this masterpiece explores issues of toxic parenting, abuse, and neglect — all framed within the complex bonds of love. At the same time, it highlights the strength and resilience of young women, free from the shackles of pity.
Contains sexual references
公式サイトはこちら:https://aisare-betsuni.com/
Past screenings
- Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) Saturday 14 February, 15:20
- QUAD Sunday 22 February, 17:30
- Tyneside Cinema Thursday 5 March, 18:00
- Filmhouse Saturday 14 March, 15:30
- Showroom Cinema Thursday 26 March, 18:00
If you like this you may like the following
All films in this season
A Bad Summer
Adabana
ANGRY SQUAD: The Civil Servant and the Seven Swindlers
Blue Boy Trial
Conflagration
Ghost Killer
Hakkenden: Fiction and Reality
I Am What I Am
Kaneko's Commissary
Like Asura
Love Doesn't Matter to Me
Missing Child Videotape
NEMURUBAKA: Hypnic Jerks
Petals and Memories
Sham
She Taught Me Serendipity
Silence of the Sea
Strangers in Kyoto
Teki Cometh
The Final Piece
The Hotel of My Dream
The Last Blossom
The Man Who Failed to Die
The Real You
Ura Aka: L'Aventure
What Should We Have Done?





She Taught Me Serendipity
NEMURUBAKA: Hypnic Jerks
The Hotel of My Dream