HAPPYEND
Two best friends’ high school prank leads to a school-wide surveillance state. With the country already on edge politically and everyone waiting for a massive impending earthquake, HAPPYEND creeps into your psyche as both a warning and a coming-of-age drama.
Kou and Yuta are obsessed with music. They make a habit of breaking into school to create dance tracks with their close group of friends. But, after their attempts to humble their principal, Big Brother enters the building to police their every move. The system is now rigged against them.
Filmmaker Neo Sora‘s dialogue is fantastic. The mixed feelings of best friends about to be torn apart by change, the comical made-up conversations from afar, and the authentic moments of growing up and growing apart. Sora opens fresh wounds at every turn. Bill Kirstein’s cinematography immediately sets the tone. He manages to capture the raucous joy of high school shenanigans and the disturbing advances in technological scrutiny.
This predominantly young cast is incredible. Yukito Hidaka is captivating as Kou. His brooding aura and genuine wonder are the perfect foil for Hayato Kurihara‘s intense Yuta. Each actor wears their heart on their sleeve.HAPPYEND is an undeniably Orwellian, yet entirely relevant. The US is currently feeling the direct dystopian effects of hyper-surveillance as people of color are snatched off the streets at every turn, with assistance from DMV and court records. Protesters are no safer, unless in large numbers. Sora gives his young characters a platform to resist, and it is both heart-pounding and inspiring. It keenly reflects ever-evolving political landscapes everywhere.
He cleverly weaves together the climate crisis, young activism, and (very) near-future technology takeover. Quietly terrifying, we can pretend like HAPPYEND isn’t a glimpse into tomorrow. At its heart, the film is an effective teen drama set in the heightened and often Sisyphian world we’re leaving the next generation.
Happyend Trailer:
HAPPYEND, a near-future coming-of-age feature set in Tokyo, continues its international run with a limited U.S. theatrical release through Film Movement, starting in New York on September 12, 2025. U.S. theater locations and screening dates are available HERE.
Filmmaker Patrick Dickinson brings audiences a nuanced tale of loss and love in COTTONTAIL. Following the death of his wife, Kenzaburo travels with his son and his young family to fulfill his late wife’s last wish, to scatter her ashes at Lake Windemere in England. The film flashes back in time, giving us intimate details of the love story between Kenzaburo and Akiko. 
Tae Kimura gives an award-worthy performance as Akiko. The depth is mesmerizing. You will remember it. Lily Franky delivers a stunning complexity in Kenzaburo. Dickinson skillfully draws out the rift between him and his son Toshi (a fantastic Ryo Nishikido). The built-up guilt and regret flow off the screen as Franky moves from scene to scene. So, too, does the fierce adoration for his wife. 
Dickinson places the audience in a precarious emotional state once we witness the hardships of Akiko’s progressing condition and Kenzaburo’s increasing frustrations with losing the wife he vowed to love through thick and thin. The discussion of the impact of acting as a primary caregiver hangs above the film like a dark cloud, allowing the redemption narrative to hold your heart. COTTONTAIL is about the individuality of grief, keeping secrets, and human connection. It is an undeniably beautiful and affecting film.
Starring Academy Award® Nominee 
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