Metrograph Pictures has acquired North American rights for Neo Sora’s surveillance drama Happyend from Magnify, following its world premiere at Venice Film Festival.
Set in a near-future Tokyo, the film centres on two high-schoolers who pull a prank that leads to increased surveillance at their school. The cast is led by Hayato Kurihara and Yukito Hidaka.
Following its premiere in the Horizons section of Venice, the feature will play Toronto, Busan and New York Film Festival. Metrograph Pictures will release the film theatrically in 2025.
The Japan-US co-production marks the feature fiction debut of Sora, who was at Venice in 2023 with documentary Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus, a concert film centred on the final performance of his late musician father. His previous work includes short The Chicken, which screened at Locarno, New York and AFI Fest.
Happyend is produced by Zakkubalan, Cineric Creative, Cinema Inutile and Giraffe Pictures. Producers are Albert Tholen, Aiko Masubuchi, Eric Nyari, Alex C. Lo and Anthony Chen.
The film will open in Japan through Bitters End on October 5.
“I made this film imagining what a near-future might look like, drawing parallels with Japan’s history of earthquakes unearthing social contradictions,” said Sora. “So much of this film comes from my own experiences growing up in New York, and the friendships that have been fundamental to my life. I can’t wait to see how the film will connect with audiences in the US.”
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