The Danish documentary directed by the multi-awarded Kaspar Astrup Schröder for Good Company Pictures, will be pitched at the upcoming Tokyo Docs.

Kaspar Astrup Schröder’s I Belong to Nowhere is his third feature-length documentary set in Japan after his debut The Invention of Dr Nakamats (2009) and Rent a Family (2012).

The film centres around the mental health hotline “A Place for You”, where a group of young volunteers are chatting every day with thousands in need.

Set up by the student Koki-at the time only 21, the service which employs 600 people, has over 300,000 users and was influential in the Japanese government’s decision to set up a ‘Minister of loneliness’.

The director follows Koki and a handful of ‘A Place for You’ vulnerable users who struggle to find meaning in their lives. Wit the help of Koki and the Japanese government, they finally have a place to turn to and their journey towards better health is happening.

The film is being produced by Good Company Pictures’ Katrine A. Sahlstrøm (Ai Weiwei the Fake Case) and Maria Helga Stürup (Nobody Knows Casper), in co-production with Sweden’s Memento Film, co-financing from DR, SVT, VGTV, support from the Danish Film Institute and the Swedish Film Institute. The expected delivery is January 2025.

Autlook Film Sales which has handled Schröder’s earlier films Big Time, Waiting for the Sun, Making a Mountain and the doc series Kids on the Silk Road (co-directed by Schröder) has again come on board this new film.

According to Sahlstrøm, the project will be pitched at Tokyo Docs (October 30-November 1st) in collaboration with the Japanese production company Moolin.