A Tale of Water on the Southern Island) is a Japanese anime biographical film directed by Noboru Ichiguro.[1] The film premiered on November 15, 2008. Within Japan it was released via Joueikai and Oyako Eiga . Its tagline was "Don't Give Up on Your Dreams." The film portrays the career of Yoichi Hatta, a civil engineer active in Japanese Taiwan, and his interactions with the native Taiwanese. It was financed as a commemoration of the 115th anniversary of the Hokkoku Shimbun, a newspaper in Hatta's hometown of Kanazawa, and produced by Mushi Productions.[2] Preview screenings were held on November 11, 2008 at Hokkoku Shimbun's Akabane Hall and on November 20 at Meiji Yasuda Life Hall (MY Shinjuku Building), while the first public screening was held on November 15 at the opening of Kanazawa's Corona Cinema World. Afterwards, it was primarily screened in schools and public institutions in Ishikawa Prefecture and from May 8, 2009 in Cinemate Mini-Theater in Shinjuku. It was also released in Taiwan. The film's title is derived from Patten lai-a, the Taiwanese term for "Hatta has come."