Of Love & Law

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• 2017
• 1 hr 34 mins
• Documentary

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Fumi and Kazu are life partners, both professionally and privately: they run the first and only law firm in Japan set up by an openly gay couple. The lawyers know all too well the realities of being a minority in a conformist society, where the collective unity is absolute and often maintained at the expense of individual rights and freedom. Not being part of the majority could lead to prosecution by law and alienation by society at large - illustrated by the cases that the two lawyers take on. The individual freedom is viewed as a privilege not a right, and the fundamental human rights of equality and security are only extended to the majority. In a 2014 report, Amnesty International slammed Japan for 'veering away from global human rights standards', while the World Economic Forum places Japan 101st out of 145 countries in the global gender equality ranking, far behind developing countries such as Rwanda and the Philippines. Laws of Love and Other Things follows the two lawyers as they enter into the lives of their clients; each revealing the hidden diversities of the homogeneous and conservative society. As the two lawyers work hard to defend the rights of their clients, they have their own dilemma to deal with - to raise a family of their own in a society where their partnership have no legal recognition or protection. The film explores the universal concept of love, family, and equality with the personal stories of the characters revealing modern Japan in transition. The film also poses the questions - what are the risks of being an outsider in your own country? What happens when you don't belong to the masses?