Japan has selected Yamada Yoji’s “Nagasaki: Memories Of My Son” (Haha to Kuraseba) as its Best Foreign Language Film submission for this year’s Academy Awards.

This will be the fifth time the 84-year-old director has represented Japan, beginning in 1986 with Final Take. Only his period drama The Twilight Samurai (2003), part of a samurai trilogy, made the short list.

The film charts the story of midwife Nobuko (Yoshinaga Sayuri)  who is resolved to move on as she stands at the grave of her son Koji (Kazunari Ninomiya) who died when the Americans bombed Nagasaki. However, upon returning home, she is visited by an apparition of her son, who continues to return in order to reminisce with his mother about the past, family, affection and war.

The film was was released in Japan in December 2015 and received a Best Actor award for Ninomiya Kazunari from the Japan Academy Awards and a Best Supporting Actress award for Haru Kuroki, who plays the son’s girlfriend.

Will it make the short list? Stay tuned next year January 2017 for the final list of nominees!

(via Screendaily, Yahoo)