Yunus Emre InstituteOn the evening of 11 April 2025, Yunus Emre Enstitüsü – London opened its 2025 Film Screening Series with a cinematic offering that was both haunting and human: Kodokushi, a critically acclaimed documentary by Turkish director Ensar Altay. The screening, which began at 7 PM, was dedicated to exploring themes of identity, belonging, and the human condition through the lens of contemporary cinema.
Kodokushi – a Japanese term that translates to “lonely death” – unflinchingly examines the quiet epidemic of isolation in modern urban life. With sensitivity and depth, Altay traces the story of Norihito, an employee at a cleaning company tasked with restoring the homes of individuals who died alone and remained unnoticed for days or even weeks. Through his encounters with the remnants of forgotten lives, Norihito finds himself reckoning with his own relationships, regrets, and understanding of community.
Parallel to Norihito’s inner journey is the story of Muramatsu, an elderly man gradually retreating from society, quietly navigating the final chapter of his life. Interwoven with care, their narratives speak not only to Japan’s demographic crisis but also to a broader global disquiet—the erosion of social bonds in an age of hyperconnectivity.
Shot with a poetic eye and grounded in compassionate storytelling, Kodokushi is less a film than a meditation: a call to reflect on the spaces we occupy, the silences we overlook, and the threads that tie us, however loosely, to one another.
The evening concluded with a post-screening conversation designed to engage the audience in dialogue around the film’s themes—loneliness, loss, memory, and the quiet dignity of care work. In a city where daily life often moves at a relentless pace, the event offered a moment of collective pause and introspection.
About the Director
Ensar Altay, a graduate of the London Film Academy, has spent years documenting real lives across continents. Between 2012 and 2020, he created a range of television documentaries that bridged cultures and geographies. Kodokushi, his first feature-length film, is the product of that decade of observation and listening—a portrait of social disconnection that resonates far beyond Japan.
In bringing Kodokushi to London, Yunus Emre Enstitüsü invited audiences into a conversation not just about film, but about the unseen corners of our shared lives—where grief, memory, and empathy quietly converge.