Ai was 13 when she appeared in her first film "Give and Go", which is directed by Hideto Mori. She plays a young deaf girl having trouble with fitting in her world, and she meets a young man who understands her feelings. They both love basketball, and good things happen to those who play hoops!

I want to find it and watch it after seeing this trailer (looks like the DVD will be available on Amazon and elsewhere in March):