Pięć Smaków w Domu

Happyend

dir. Neo Sora
Japan 2024, 113’
subtitles: Polish and English

Press Play to start

Polish premiere
Theatrical Screenings
St 15 Nov, 19:15
Kinoteka 2
Kinoteka 2
Su 16 Nov, 21:00
Kinoteka 2
Kinoteka 2
Tu 18 Nov, 20:30
Kinoteka 3
Kinoteka 3
Film also presented during the festival showcase in Poznań (20–23.11)
Credits
Japan 2024
Duration: 113’
director: Neo Sora
screenplay: Neo Sora
cinematography: Bill Kirstein
editing: Albert Tholen
music: Lia Ouyang Rusli
cast: Hayato Kurihara, Yukito Hidaka, Yuta Hayashi, Shina Peng, ARAZI, Kilala Inori, Ayumu Nakajima, Masaru Yahagi, PUSHIM, Makiko Watanabe, Shiro Sano
producer: Albert Tholen, Aiko Masubuchi, Eric Nyari, Alex C. Lo, Anthony Chen
production: Cinema Inutile
language: Japanese
colouration: colour

Film description

An innocent prank involving the principal’s car at a prestigious Tokyo high school sets off a chain of suspicion. Two friends, already dreaming of escaping the school walls, and Japan itself, become the main targets of a new surveillance system: a network of cameras that turns students’ everyday lives into a dystopian spectacle under the watchful eye of authority.

The long-awaited feature debut by Neo Sora is a portrait of generational anxiety and a near-future vision of Tokyo’s metropolis. Its protagonists are young Japanese navigating a world where every move is recorded and where a harmless joke becomes an act of political rebellion. Pulsating with electronic music, filled with inventive formal solutions, and posing difficult questions about the future of the Land of the Rising Sun, “Happyend” is a breakthrough in Japanese independent cinema - a long-anticipated new voice and a striking example of creative defiance. Drawing on the legacy of Japanese protest movements, Sora crafts a nuanced manifesto for a generation refusing to remain indifferent. The film brims with the energy of youth - those searching for happy endings that contemporary Japan so desperately needs.

text:
Łukasz Mańkowski

Neo Sora

Japanese-American director, screenwriter, and multimedia artist whose work bridges film, music, and visual arts. The son of legendary composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, he grew up between Tokyo and New York, shaping his sensitivity and transnational perspective on the world. His highly anticipated feature debut, "Happyend", is one of the most talked-about films of recent months – premiering at the Venice International Film Festival and later showcased at major festivals around the globe, from New York to Toronto.

Filmography:

2018 The Chicken (short)
2019 Earthquake (short)
2020 Ryuichi Sakamoto: Async Live at the Park Avenue Armory
2022 Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus
2024 Happyend
2025 A Very Straight Neck (short)

Be up to date!

© Fundacja Sztuki Arteria
Our website uses cookies, i.e. small text files that a website saves on your computer or mobile device when you browse the site. Click here to change your cookie settings.