750 days of activity, 5000 hours of footage, and a controversial international sports event amidst the global pandemic - making an official film for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is an extraordinary effort. Kawase Naomi is a director known for his intimacy rather than scale, who unexpectedly chose him to take on this challenge, making this film production feat even more captivating. Kawase brought subtle but enticing subversion to this official committee. Traditionally, the Olympics have attempted to cultivate a myth that goes beyond identity symbols such as nationality, race, and gender. In response, Kawase devoted most of the content of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics official film A to pursuing these narratives - allowing people to examine the personal and political costs of professional sports with a generous and humane perspective. In snapshots of athletes and their families, Kawase exhibits a rare and extraordinary sensitivity, resisting the metaphors of sports documentaries and further exploring taboo topics around female bodies. Unexpected questions have been raised about how the natural world conflicts and integrates with human life, the transience of beauty, and the ways in which art and sports mirror each other. A-side is the first half of an extraordinary achievement, fascinating and profound. Derived from: https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2023/films/official-film-of-the-olympic-games-tokyo-2020-side-a