Paris-based The Pool Films has acquired worldwide rights to “The Color of the Sun”, the feature debut of Tokyo-based photographer and commercials director Xavier Tera, ahead of its world premiere in Venice’s Horizons section. The coming-of-age drama is set in Okinawa and explores belonging, identity and tension around the island’s extensive US military presence.

The Japanese- and English-language film follows teenager Kamei and his friends during their last summer before leaving school, after they meet Colin, who was raised on a US base. Shot on 35mm by cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, it is an Italy-Canada-Japan co-production featuring largely first-time actors; Pool Films will begin showing it to international buyers after Venice.