Back to the Uptown for Little Forest: Summer/Autumn and Little Forest: Winter/Spring. A series of four films, one for each season, depicting a woman’s attempt to reconnect with her country home and way of life. Ichiko grew up in Komori, in the Tohoku region of Japan, a small farming village where her mother taught her how to cook and live off the land. Like many young people, Ichiko rejected this way of life and went to the city as soon as she was able after being abandoned by her mother. She returns to the village a few years later, insistent on proving to herself that she can be self-sufficient. We watch her revisiting the recipes of her childhood, and receive tips, handed down to her, and now incorporated for her own sustenance. Part cooking and gardening show, part memoir, it is a visually engaging journey. The films are based on the Little Forest manga.

Little Forest‘s Bechdel rating: PASS. Ichiko and her best friend Kikko have several conversations about farming, foraging, gardening, or cooking.