TANABATA
by
Janine Trapp
TITLE SEQUENCE: The title Tanabata written in Japanese Hiragana transforms into its writing in roman letters.
FADE IN:
SCENE 01
EXT. IN A RESIDENTAL AREA - DAY
HIKO, a young woman with light hair and light skin, hangs loosely and bored with her head upside down over the rail guard of her roof terrace and watches the street in front of her house.
A cyclist and some kids pass by.
Suddenly a starlight shoots down the street. With eyes wide open HIKO can hardly believe what she has just seen. Shortly after she sees a cow which follows in the same direction. Astonished HIKO turns over and observes it. She can only see the upper body of the cow that with a glance in its eyes seems to stare at HIKO.
She gets up and runs down the street to follow the cow.
SCENE 02
EXT. SUBURBAN STREETS – DAY
HIKO is walking down the street. An old woman in the background sweeps the floor. At the next crossing she finds lots of cows and star lights streaming in a small side alley. The cows look suspicious, their upper body part looks realistic, but their legs seem to be covered with cloth, so when they walk it resembles snails crawling.
A local stranger passes HIKO and gives her a curious look.
HIKO walks in the crowd of cows, while more stars pass by.
SCENE 03
EXT. FESTIVAL STREET - DAY
At the end of the side alley HIKO finds herself in a big street with festive stalls on both sides and big gate decorations spanned over the street. The cows accompanied by little human like creatures , named FESTIVAL FOLK, all head in the same direction. HIKO cannot see the faces of them, but just follows the flow. The festival still seems calm, yet tension is building up while they walk.
The FESTIVAL FOLK surrounds HIKO and suddenly they look up and stare at her. With a sudden the cows expose themselves as being only costumes. TAIKO DRUMMERS vibrantly jump out from underneath of them.
SCENE 04
EXT. FESTIVAL STREET - DAY
The FESTIVAL FOLK yields the group of child and adult TAIKO DRUMMERS who are dressed in cow resembling clothing. They start with a dynamic drumming performance.
SCENE 05
EXT. FESTIVAL STREET - DAY
The women of the FESTIVAL FOLK group up and perform a traditional dance. The interrupting shout of the KID TAIKO DRUMMERS introduces a solo part of one FESTIVAL WOMAN who intimidatingly dances around HIKO.
The other FESTIVAL WOMEN join in by building a circle, spinning close towards HIKO and distance themselves from her again.
SCENE 06
EXT. FESTIVAL STREET - DAY
Another interrupting shout of the KID TAIKO DRUMMERS is followed by a solo drumming of a male adult and then accompanied by a second performance of the whole TAIKO GROUP again.
SCENE 07
EXT. FESTIVAL STREET – TWILIGHT
While it is getting dark and the evening dawns, the gates in the festival consecutively are being illuminated and more and more lights in the street turn on.
SCENE 08
EXT. FESTIVAL STREET – NIGHT
Amazed HIKO walks around exploring curiously the stalls of the festival. While she admires the little OCTOPUS at a takoyaki stall a weird looking cow, named BAKA COW, with almost rubbery legs jumps past in the background.
One of the decoration gates which looks like fish face spits out some stars. With a happy smiling face both stars fly towards the takoyaki stall where HIKO stopped. The OCTOPUS jump on the stars, fly in a circular course around HIKO and disappear in the night.
SCENE 09
EXT. FESTIVAL STREET – NIGHT
The FESTIVAL WOMAN group up again and repeat their traditional dance in the colourful lights of the illuminated festival. Another shout of the KID TAIKO DRUMMERS introduces the emergence of a little female DEMON which looks like a mixture of a cow and a pan. It walks past HIKO towards the crowd where everyone in the festival, the FESTIVAL FOLK and the TAIKO DRUMMERS, lined up. The FESTIVAL WOMEN present BAKA COW to the DEMON, they both fuse, shoot up to the night sky and transmute into a firework.
SCENE 10
EXT. FESTIVAL STREET – NIGHT
After a final dance of the FESTIVAL WOMEN around HIKO with a sudden the whole crowd of the festival disappears. While the lights slowly get dimmer HIKO finds herself alone in the deserted street after an amazing festival.
