I Go GaGa: Welcome Home, Mom

'I Go GaGa: Welcome Home, Mom' is a documentary by Naoko Nobutomo in which the filmmaker has recorded the relationship and life of her parents. Her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in her mid-eighties and her father, now a nonagenarian, has been supporting her ever since, traveling an hour each day at the age of 98 to see her in the hospital while also starting to exercise.

Naoko Nobutomo's previous film was 'I Go Gaga, My Dear,' released in 2018, where the progression of her mother's dementia was already evident, with her days being a repetition of "one step forward and one step back." Nobutomo continued filming until, finally, the 2020 pandemic worsened things, but she witnessed how her father's love and hope never wavered.

The film portrays the fate of a family in an extremely aged Japanese society in a story that could happen to anyone. It is the testimony of a life that can only be captured from the eyes of someone who lives it from the inside.

Naoko Nobutomo's other documentaries have also explored social themes such as the North Korean kidnapping of Japanese citizens, social withdrawal, early-onset dementia, cyber café refugees, or "otaku" culture.

• Documentary