Happyend

Happyend

TIFF65: Greek Premiere
In a near-future Tokyo where the threat of a catastrophic earthquake pervades daily life, two rabble-rousing best friends are about to graduate high school. One night, they pull a consequential prank on their Principal, which leads to a surveillance system being installed in their school. Stuck between the oppressive security system and a darkening national political situation, the two respond in contrasting ways, leading them to confront differences they never had to face before. This beautifully crafted fiction feature debut from director Neo Sora (whom we met through the film he dedicated to his father, Ryuichi Sakamoto) transports us to an urban environment that is constantly alert, moving dangerously close to aborting the notion of the commons. Focusing on a handful of rebellious adolescents struggling to find their path in a corrupt modern world, Happyend is an ode to youth’s stubborn insistence on dreaming of a better future, as well as a harsh critique to the society of surveillance.
Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Neo Sora
Script: Neo Sora
Cinematography: Bill Kirstein
Editing: Albert Tholen
Sound: Tatsuya Ohbo
Music: Lia Ouyang Rusli
Actors: Hayato Kurihara, Hidaka, Yuta Hayashi, Shina Peng, Arazi, Kilala Inori, PUSHIM, Ayumu Nakajima, Makiko Watanabe, Shiro Sano
Production: Zakkubalan, Cineric Creative, Cinema Inutile, K-Garage, Sons of Rigor, Spark Features, Purple Tree Content, Giraffe Productions
Producers: Albert Tholen, Aiko Masubuchi, Eric Nyari, Alex C. Lo, Anthony Chen
Costumes: Juni Kurita
Production Design: Norifumi Ataka
Executive producer: Kaoru Hayashi, Douglas Choi, Robina Riccitiello, Ema Ryan Yamazaki
Make Up: Junko Hirabayashi
Format: DCP
Color: Color
Production Country: Japan, USA, Singapore
Production Year: 2024
Duration: 113'
Contact: Magnify

Neo Sora

Raised in New York and Tokyo, Neo Sora is a filmmaker, artist, and translator living between the two cities. He directed the feature-length concert film Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus (2023), which premiered in Venice. He is the director and writer of the short films The Chicken (Locarno 2020) and Sugar Glass Bottle (Indie Memphis 2022, Best Narrative Short), and he was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2021. Happyend is his debut fiction feature as a writer/director.

Filmography

2020 The Chicken (short)
2021 Ainu Neno an Ainu (doc)
2022 Sugar Glass Bottle (short)
2023 Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus (doc)
2024 Happyend