We’re introducing Night Mode … Try it out with the sun/moon icon at the top left. Or change font settings with the ‘A’ to make the site work for you.
Got it
ICA is closed from the 30 May – 3 June inclusive.
0 / 256
Tea Friends
Institute of Contemporary Arts
Tea Friends dir. SOTOYAMA Bunji, Japan 2022, 134 mins., Japanese with English subtitles, ©2022 "Tea Friends" Film Partners


Book tickets

A small, innocent-sounding newspaper advertisement leads callers to “Tea Friends”, which is in reality a call girl service founded by SASAKI Mana (OKAMOTO Rei). The service dispatches elderly “tea girls” to the lonely old men that respond to its adverts, bringing much-needed companionship to the lives of both call girl and client while also providing a second family to its younger staff.

Among the most popular of these “tea girls” is Matsuko (ISONISHI Maki), a former shoplifter whose depressingly solitary twilight years were turned around when Mana recruited her into the group. With business booming, she and many of her fellow “tea girls” have found a new sense of purpose, but hard times lie ahead – the bonds this makeshift family once thought were unbreakable are starting to collapse.

Inspired by a real-life prostitution club bust in 2013, Tea Friends is another of SOTOYAMA Bunji’s (Soiree, JFTFP21) excellent explorations of unconventional social issues in Japan, this time tackling loneliness among Japan’s growing elderly population and the rather taboo topic of sexuality within this group.
 
Book tickets
08:15 pm
Sat, 08 Feb 2025
Cinema 1
Ticket information
  • All tickets that do not require ID (full price, disabled, income support) can be printed at home or stored in email
  • For aged-based concession tickets (under 25, student and pensioner) please bring relevant ID to collect at the front desk before the event.
Access information
Cinema 1
  • Both our Cinemas have step free access from The Mall and are accessible by ramp
  • We have 1 wheelchair allocated space with a seat for a companion
  • All seats are hard back, have a crushed velvet feel and they do not recline
  • These are our seat size dimensions: W 42 x D 45 x H 52
  • Arm rest either side of the seat dimensions: L 27 x W 7 x H 20
Please email access@ica.art
for the following requirements:
  • We have unassigned seating. If you require a specific seat, please reserve this in advance
  • Free for visitors where ticket prices are a barrier, please email

All films are ad-free and 18+ unless otherwise stated, and start with a 10 min. curated selection of trailers.

Members+ and all Patrons gain free entry to all cinema screenings, exhibitions, talks, and more.
Join today as a Member+ for £25/month.