Best friends Yuta and Kou are about to graduate high school in a near-future Tokyo where the threat of a catastrophic earthquake pervades daily life. One night, they pull a prank on their principal, which leads to a surveillance system being installed in their school. Stuck between the oppressive security system and a darkening national political situation, the two respond in contrasting ways, leading them to confront differences they never had to face before. The first narrative feature from Neo Sora (director of Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus), Happyend pulses with colour, music and the vivid textures of Tokyo. In this coming-of-age drama, the lives of tomorrow’s teens are captured with a luminous and heartfelt clarity.

SCREENINGS / EVENTS

AUSTRALIA

Cinema Nova, Carlton VIC

Mount Vic Flicks, Mount Victoria NSW (Dec 4-7)

Pivotonian Cinema, South Geelong VIC (Season starts Nov 20)

The Mercury, Adelaide SA (Dec 16)

AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND

Alice Cinemas, Christchurch (Season starts Nov 13)

The Vic Devonport, Auckland (Season starts Nov 13)

More sites TBA soon.

FESTIVALS / AWARDS

Venice International Film Festival 2024
Orizzonti Competition

Toronto International Film Festival 2024
Centrepiece

New York Film Festival 2024
Main Slate

Pingyao International Film Festival 2024
Robert Rossellini Award Winner

Hong Kong Asian Film Festival 2024
New Talent Award Winner

Asian Pacific Screen Awards 2024
Young Cinema Award

Sydney Film Festival 2025
Official Competition

New Zealand International Film Festival 2025
Fresh Competition

Melbourne International Film Festival 2025
Asia Pacific

Asian Pacific Screen Academy 2025
Asia Pacific Young Audience Award Winner

DETAILS

Aspect Ratio
1.85:1

Picture
Colour

Sound
5.1

Screening Format
DCP

Original Language Title
Happyend

REVIEWS

“Among the most unmissable films to hit U.S. theaters this year.” — Carlos Aguilar, Rogerebert.com

“Now, in 2025, a new voice emerges. Neo Sora’s debut feature, HAPPYEND, is not just a film. It is a cultural statement, a cinematic rave, and a love letter to youth resisting control. For long-time enthusiasts of Japanese cinema like myself, HAPPYEND is one of the most important releases in years, marking the arrival of a daring new filmmaker whose voice feels both urgent and timeless.” — Simon Martin, Japan Nakama 

“Heartfelt, gently humorous and possessing a keen understanding of the passage from juvenile to adult thinking, it’s a thoughtful and solemnly beautiful feature debut.” — Jim Vorel, Paste

“Sora, his cinematographer, Bill Kirstein, and the composer Lia Ouyang Rusli capture the achy pleasures of youthful friendship and the tectonic frictions of the personal, the political and the geological. When a pen rolls on a desk, we're right to wonder, is it an anxious kid tapping his foot or the Big One?” — Lisa Kennedy, New York Times (Critic’s Pick)

“Neo Sora’s follow up to last year’s Ryuchi Sakamoto: Opus is a near-future coming-of-age story with a sweetly optimistic script and a prescient message. It’s also one of the best films showing at Venice.” — Chris Cotonou, A Rabbit’s Foot

“Sora strikes an expert tonal balance between the bittersweet, elegiac qualities of the end-of-school drama, with compassionate observation of the maturation process.” — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

“A crisp and understated piece, with Bill Kirstein’s cinematography making the most of nocturnal cityscapes and of sterile empty spaces in the school classrooms and corridors…. A gentle, piano-based score by Lia Ouyang Rusli carries its own echoes of Sakamoto stateliness, not over-reverentially but with grace.” — Jonathan Romney, Screen Daily

“Sora’s clean-lined screenplay sketches a world that looks a lot like ours, only with the screws a little tightened.” — Jessia Kiang, Variety

FURTHER READING

Neo Sora: Unveiling Essential Truths Beyond Rules in “Happyend” — A Tale of Friendship and Defiance

Happyend, is a masterpiece born from the chaos of the 2020s, offering a beacon of hope for the future of Japanese cinema. — Kimi Idonuma, via NiEW.