Numakage Public Pool

In Tokyo's Numakage neighborhood, the local swimming pool has been a retreat for children and families, a synonym of wellness for the elderly, as well as a discreet meeting place for the gay men living in the area for over five decades. But the local authorities have set in motion its demolition, despite the residents' intense opposition. With the countdown ticking, Shingo Ota portrays the farewell of an entire community to their beloved swimming pool as a process tracing the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Endowed with unexpected touches of humor and pinpointing beautiful personal stories emerging through the cracks, Ota's tender gaze becomes a bittersweet expression of love for the notion of public space, the value of the social bonds it has the capacity to cultivate, and the irreplaceable memories it creates.

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