Happyend
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Theatrical Screenings
Kinoteka 2
Kinoteka 2
Kinoteka 3
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.
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)
