The first dramatic feature from Ryuichi Sakamoto’s son, Neo Sora (Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus), is a “story about the near future,” a Japan constantly rocked by earthquakes and plunging toward dystopia. Best friends Kou and Yuta are in their graduating year at high school when one night they pull a major prank on their principal. The knock-on effect is the installation of a high-tech surveillance system. With this totalitarian panopticon and the general ambiance of looming government oppression, things are looking bad for our young rabble-rousers…
Teen comedy and political protest make for a good match in Happyend, and when you add thumping techno tunes; great performances from the two leads; and winning turns from the secondary cast, the result is a blast. Shirô Sano’s cantankerous principal is the perfect foil for Kou and Yuta, and the boys’ antics are all the more winning in the face of his authoritarianism. This zesty, creative, and quite moving film shows that teen hijinks are funny even in the face of catastrophe.
Supported by
Media Partner
Hayato Kurihara, HIDAKA, Yuta Hayashi, Shina Peng, Arazi, Kilala Inori
Japan/USA
2024
In Japanese with English subtitles
At Vancouver Playhouse
At Fifth Avenue
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Kaoru Hayashi, Douglas Choi, Robina Riccitiello, Ema Ryan Yamazaki
Producer
Albert Tholen, Aiko Masubuchi, Eric Nyari, Alex C. Lo, Anthony Chen
Screenwriter
Neo Sora
Cinematography
Bill Kirstein
Editor
Albert Tholen
Production Design
Norifumi Ataka
Original Music
Lia Ouyang Rusli
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 at Venice. He is the director/writer of the short films The Chicken (Locarno 2020) and Sugar Glass Bottle (Indie Memphis 2022, Best Narrative Short), and 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: Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus (2023)
Photo by Aiko Masubuchi
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Turner & Constable
Filmed as a supplement to a blockbuster exhibition at Tate Britain happening right now, this doc in the popular Exhibition on Screen series allows us to view these competitive, complementary English landscape artists side by side.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Mixing documentary and reenactment, this film powerfully evokes the desperate attempts of the Red Crescent to rescue a six year old child trapped in a car under Israeli military fire. Oscar nominee: Best International Film
Victims of Sin
This movie is a hot scramble of piety and passion, sentimentality and sleaze. Ninón Sevilla plays Violeta, a rumba sensation who oversteps when she rescues a newborn from the trash. This gets her fired and wins the enmity of the pimp who fathered the kid.
Sensualidad
Prostitute Aurora (Cuban-born dance queen Ninón Sevilla) gets out of prison and exacts her vengeance by seducing the very married and respectable judge who put her behind bars (Fernando Soler). Eros makes a mockery of rectitude and righteousness.