Can you remember the last time you cried? A time you really opened the floodgates and let it all out – I can remember mine and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. In Japan, there are some that believe that regular weeping can be a positive experience, one that helps you destress and reset – a form of “crying therapy”. One such person is Hidefumi Yoshida, the focus of Noemie Nakai’s 11-minute documentary Tears Teacher.

Nakai’s film introduces us to its titular tears teacher through a series of profile shots, as he sits quietly in the coffee shop he runs, the voiceover welcoming us into his world through a series of questions. As we follow him to a local cafe for a teaching session where he encourages attendees to cry, we begin to find out more about Yoshida’s practice and beliefs – including how crying therapy has boosted his immune system and made him more confident.

“I was working on a fictional feature about rental families in Japan when I came across Yoshida,” Nakai explains in an interview with The Japan Times. “I thought about writing a part in the film for him because I found his work extraordinary, but then realized it was too weird to work as a piece of fiction. Instead, I decided to make something purely about him. It’s fun and wacky, but in Japan where many people feel they can’t be vulnerable, I believe he’s spreading an important message about mental health”.

Though Yoshida’s work could easily be dismissed as just another wellness fad, Nakia never portrays him as an oddball out to make some easy money, even when getting him to explain why he dons his (obviously) fake glasses when in teacher mode. Her production methods offer nothing particularly noteworthy, but in a sense, this works to Yoshida favour, setting him up as an ordinary guy out to help others. Even when he admits that he fears he may look like he’s “trying too hard or a weirdo”, he exudes a genuine nature, which makes you instantly warm to him.

With the belief that crying has beneficial factors dating back to the thinkers and physicians of ancient Greece and Rome, it does feel as if there is certainly merit in Yoshida’s work. By introducing us to his alternative therapy, Nakai has not only created an insightful and entertaining short, but she has opened our eyes to ways we might be able to improve our general wellbeing and what more could you ask from a film?

On that note, I’m off to start a new ‘Short Films to make you cry’ channel on Short of the Week.