It's perhaps just as well Hayakawa Wataru financed this strange, lyrical movie himself - it's premise is odd enough to challenge even the most broad-minded financier. A former advertising director with eight years' experience, Hayakawa's film tells two stories in parallel, scored with bursts of Bach's cello sonata and, rather ominously, passages from the Book Of Revelations ("I'm a Christian, though not particularly practicing," says Wataru).

Both stories take place in a single month. In one story we see Fumihasa, a botanist who lives a hermetic existence in a north Japanese forest. A musician friend asks him to search out a special variety of maple tree - the kind used by Stradivarius to make outstanding cellos - but it's an endangered species and his conscience is troubled.

Meanwhile, we meet Hazuki, a private investigator in Tokyo, employed to catch a bizarre shoplifter who only strikes on the 25th day of the month. He never does, but after quitting his job and moving back to his homeland, he unexpectedly meets her in a local church. Somehow, over the next 67 minutes, the 25th of July becomes loaded with significance for both men.

Hayakawa began the film as a sideline from work, which he had to quit during post-production when the load became too heavy. "It took time to ease into a rhythm at the editing stage," he says. But he remains level-headed about the inclusion of his labour of love in the Critics' Week selection and hasn't yet decided how it will affect his next move. "As my participation in the Festival was completely unexpected, I can't say anything at the moment. I guess I will be more aware of it later in my career, after making several movies. But I am very happy to be able to present an independent Japanese film produced in a city other than Tokyo." Steve Grayson