What does it mean to live with the sea when the sea has taken so much away? Tomoshibi takes us to the northeastern coast of Japan, where the devastating 2011 tsunami left behind deep scars, both visible and invisible. In its aftermath, immense concrete walls, known as bochōtei, were built to shield communities from future waves. These structures promise safety, yet they also cut people off from the ocean that once defined their lives.Director Lorenzo Squarcia invites us to listen to the voices of those who remain: parents, grandparents, children who grew up with loss, and neighbors who still gather to remember. The film doesn’t deliver statistics or technical explanations. Instead, it focuses on human stories, memories of what was destroyed, love for those who were lost, and the daily acts of courage it takes to continue living in the shadow of such an event.Visually striking, the film balances personal testimonies with haunting images of seawalls stretching endlessly along the coast. At times lyrical, at times quietly raw, Tomoshibi reveals a Japan that is both mourning and moving forward.This is not a film only about disaster, it’s a film about people, about how we find ways to adapt, to keep traditions alive, and to carry memory into the future. Tomoshibi offers a rare chance to step into another community’s experience of grief, change, and survival, leaving us to reflect on our own relationship with nature, safety, and remembrance.Nicole Guillemet