<Palabra> Actress Mao Kiryu Provides Audio Guide Narration for the Film "Listen to the Forest"

Palabra Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President: Shoko Yamagami) (hereinafter "Palabra"), which provides accessibility support for culture and arts such as films and theater under the umbrella of Pole To Win Holdings, Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Teppei Tachibana; Securities Code: 3657), which develops service lifecycle solution businesses globally, announces that actress Mao Kiryu will provide the audio guide narration for the film "Listen to the Forest," opening on Friday, March 27, via the UDCast MOVIE app provided by Palabra.

The film "Listen to the Forest" is a nature documentary that marks the first time producer Tetsujiro Yamagami, known for films such as "My Village in the Drawing," "All Around Us," and "Miharashi Sedai," has taken on the challenge of directing a feature-length film while reflecting on his own life. Yuki Imai, a director who continues to create documentaries themed on the relationship between people and nature, such as "Ashita o Heguru," is also credited as a co-director.

Mao Kiryu was offered the role of audio guide narrator due to her connection to the previous film distributed by Siglo, "Miharashi Sedai," in which she appeared.

Producer Tetsujiro Yamagami, who was deeply impressed by Kiryu's unique and calm speaking style, believed that her one-of-a-kind vocal quality was perfect for the film's worldview and made the offer himself, adding further depth to the work.

An audio guide is a tool that explains the visual information of a work through audio, primarily aimed at people who are blind or have low vision. Recently, an increasing number of sighted viewers are also using it as a tool to deepen their understanding of the work when watching it for the second time or later.

The barrier-free Japanese subtitles and audio guide for the film "Listen to the Forest" were produced by Palabra.

Subtitles and audio guides can be used by utilizing the "UDCast MOVIE" app at theaters.

[Comments from Mao Kiryu]

I am Mao Kiryu, and I served as the audio guide narrator for the film "Listen to the Forest."

This is a film where the experts and the directors approach and bring awareness to nature, things that exist there, and phenomena that we often fail to fully feel despite being close to them.

This was my first time doing an audio guide, and I worked on it with the hope that I could contribute to the film experience for everyone watching such a film.

I hope that more people will be able to enjoy the film.

Born July 1, 1994, in Niigata Prefecture. She was scouted in Harajuku at age 14 and moved to Tokyo upon entering university to begin her career in entertainment in earnest. Her film debut was in 2014's "Mahoro Multi-Convenience Strut," directed by Tatsushi Omori. In the 2018 film "Chrysanthemum and the Guillotine," directed by Hisakazu Zeze, she was selected from 300 candidates to play the role of Hanagiku, marking her first leading film role. In the same year, in "The Miracle of Crybaby Shottan" director Katsumi Nojiri's "Suzuki Family's Lie," she was selected from 400 people through a workshop that also served as an audition, playing the heroine Fumi Suzuki. Her performances in these two works were highly acclaimed, winning numerous newcomer awards including the Mainichi Film Awards Sponichi Grand Prix Newcomer Award and the Kinema Junpo Best Ten Newcomer Actress Award. Her 2022 starring film "We Are Adults" (directed by Takuya Kato) won the Best Actress Award at the Beijing International Film Festival Forward Future section.

Recent appearances include "January" (23/directed by Tatsuya Mori), "After the Fever" (24/directed by Eiji Yamamoto), "Miharashi Sedai" (directed by Yuiga Danzuka/25), which was also screened in the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, and "5 Centimeters per Second" (directed by Yoshiyuki Okuyama/25). In dramas, she starred in the NHK night drama "Itsuka, Mujuryoku no Sora de" (25) and also served as the heroine in Fuji TV's "Ramune Monkey." She has also been cast in the serial television novel "Blossom," which begins broadcasting this autumn.

[Film "Listen to the Forest" Overview]

Directors: Tetsujiro Yamagami, Yuki Imai

Cast: Kenji Seiwa, Shigeyuki Baba, Toyohira Saegusa, Shiro Gyoki, Katsuhiko Goya, Nobuko Tsuno, Kazuto Nishi, Toshitoshi Yamamoto, Eiko Yamamoto, Kenichi Sakai

Subtitle & Audio Guide Production: Palabra Inc.

Credit: ©2026 SIGLO

Distribution: alfazbet, SIGLO

▼Official Website
https://alfazbetmovie.com/morinikiku/

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About Palabra Inc.　https://palabra-i.co.jp/

Palabra Inc. was born from the desire to make culture and arts, such as film, truly open. To help more customers enjoy art and cultural experiences such as movies, theater, and art exhibitions, we provide barrier-free consulting that comprehensively supports rational accommodation and making facilities, events, and screenings barrier-free, including the production of subtitles, sign language videos, multilingual support, and audio guides for works. Our company name, Palabra, means "word" in Spanish. It embodies the desire to help connect people to people, and people to things.

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About Pole To Win Holdings, Inc.　https://www.phd.inc/

Pole To Win Holdings, Inc. is a holding company that provides service lifecycle solution businesses globally. Through our group companies, we provide domestic solutions (for the game market: game debugging, customer support, localization, overseas expansion support; for the tech market: software testing, environment construction, server monitoring, data center operation; for the e-commerce market: monitoring, customer support, barrier-free subtitle/audio guide production) and overseas solutions (game debugging, localization, voice recording, customer support, product development support, etc.).