September 2025

Happyend: Capturing a Confrontation in Dystopian Tokyo

When writer-director Neo Sora sent me the script for Happyend, I connected with it immediately. I was struck by how personal and carefully observed it felt despite its near-future setting. The film tells the story of two best friends and the shifting relationships in their social group, as they face a future threatened by an impending major earthquake and growing authoritarianism. It came as no surprise when Neo told me that much of the film was drawn from his own experiences growing up, and from his reflections on how his friendships shifted as a result of political awakenings. Happyend cinematographer Bill Kirstein — one of AC's 2024 Rising Stars of Cinematography — on location. (Photo by Eunhae Mary Park.) In a crucial moment in the...more