Troubled youth? (bonus points for friendship and found family trope)

Japan has some fantastic coming of age/youth-orientated films but they're hard to find. JFF+ Independent Cinema Online Film Festival was great for that last year. This year's runs 5th-19th June, link here, only saw a few labeled coming of age but more might be youth-orientated. The website is awkward to navigate but names and summaries of previous years' should be somewhere on the site. Follow the Light was my favourite from last year's.

All of these below have strong friendships at their centre. That's important to me too and there's little I might rec to anyone which doesn't have strong friendships or found family.

My Small Land, about a Kurdish family in Japan whose father is facing deportation. Well worth seeking out. The FL's family plays her family in the film.

From rural Isan province in Thailand, Nha Harn. I wasn't sure about it at first, if I rated it by episode it would have been 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, but by the 5th episode it had drawn me in and didn't let me go. By the time I finished it, I'd sort of forgotten these were fictional characters and I hoped they were doing well and things were working out for them :) It's an adaptation of a movie based on the screenwriter/director's own youth (I think, now where did I read that to confirm?) Many of the young actors weren't professionals or experienced. I wouldn't recommend this to everyone, but you sound like someone who might understand it.

Maybe Cause You're My Boy? Coming of age with gay characters. There are problems with the writing, sound, editing, cinematography but it all sort of works because it's about awkward, unpolished teenage boys veering between awkwardness, bravado and vulnerability. Family issues on one side, poverty on the other (on GMMTV's official youtube channel).

 emeraldarrows:

At a Distance, Spring Is Green - found family, all the kids have personal issues with family, money, etc.

Mars (ML struggles with the loss of his brother, FL has severe past trauma)

Go Ahead (high school to adulthood, both MLs are troubled by family/personal problems, strong found family element among not only the three but the adults in their lives)

The Sound of Magic (FL is troubled, ML is an adult but troubled as well)

Better Days (movie, one lead lives on the streets/is a rougher kid, the other is very bullied at school)

He Won't Kill, She Won't Die (movie, both leads are very troubled)

Hot Road (movie, FL has problems at home, ML is sort of a rebel type)

My Blood & Bones in a Flowing Galaxy (movie, FL is very troubled with good reason)

Thank you! I already had some of these in my PTW list and the movies you recommended also sound interesting. I'll check them out.