Actor Atsuro Watabe is sitting in the director's chair for the first time, heading up a movie titled "Kotoba no Nai Fuyu." Watabe also came up with the original proposal for the film, and is appearing in it along with starring actress Saki Takaoka.

Set during a winter in Hokkaido, the story depicts a painful love between a man unable to speak since birth (Watabe) and a woman who suddenly loses her memory in a horse-riding accident (Takaoka). Leona Hirota and Kazuma Suzuki are among the supporting cast.

Watabe commented that it has long been his dream to direct a movie. He said the scenes were close to being improvisational, so he offered the role to Takaoka, whom he felt would be flexible enough to handle it. The pair have worked together multiple times in the past, such as in the 1992 film "Hashi no Nai Kawa."

The film has already been given a spot in the competition category of the upcoming Tokyo International Film Festival, taking place October 18-26. No theatrical release date has been announced so far.