Mapping the Contours of Loss and Growth on the City - and the Soul
Sneak Preview Screening: "Brand New Landscape" (Miharashi Sedai)
followed by a Q&A with director Yuiga Danzuka, producer Kenji Yamagami
and actor Kodai Kurosaki
Tuesday, September 9 at 6:00 pm
In Japanese with English subtitles
Japan 2025 115 minutes
Written and directed by: Yuiga Danzuka
Produced by: Kenji Yamagami
Starring: Kodai Kurosaki, Kenichi Endo, Haruka Igawa, Mai Kiryu,
Akiko Kikuchi, Aoi Nakamura, Shingo Nakayama, Mutsuo Yoshioka,
Yu Chun Su, Misaki Hattori, Riko Ishida, Rintaro Arao
Film courtesy of Siglo and LesPros Entertainment
One of the youngest filmmakers to premiere a work in the Cannes Film Festival's Directors' Fortnight section, Yuiga Danzuka more than amply earned that privilege with the beguiling "Brand New Landscape." A story that will feel both familiar and foreign to urbanites around the world, but especially those dwelling in Tokyo, Danzuka's feature debut explores not only the incessant transformations of city spaces, but also how those changes can impact our own inner landscapes.
The film opens on a flickering ceiling lightbulb - a metaphor that will reoccur several times - as a family of four visits a highway rest stop before arriving at their summer lodgings. Once there, the father, Hajime (Endo), will receive a phone call and make a decision that greatly impacts the future of his wife and children.
A decade later, those children are now young adults, attempting to navigate life as the landscape of Tokyo (d)evolves around them. Ren (Kurosaki) works for a florist, delivering specialty arrangements for public events, while Emi (Kiryu) plans for an impending move into her boyfriend's apartment. While neither seems particularly unhappy, their air of listlessness is a hallmark of their generation. Making a delivery one afternoon, Ren discovers his father, now a renowned landscape architect with a thriving firm, whose work is being showcased in an exhibition. It's not immediately clear how long the two have been estranged, but Ren's emotional unraveling is punctuated by his dropping of a pricey orchid plant.
The siblings disagree about how - or even if - a reconciliation should be attempted; meanwhile, Hajime considers a new project and is given a stern drubbing by a young employee, who insists that it would displace a longstanding homeless community in the guise of renewal and revitalization. And then something magical happens, and Danzuka’s intensely formalist film demonstrates that all the careful framing and spatial tension serve an even greater meaning than the mirroring of the city's alienating alterations.
Please join us for this sneak preview of the "intellectually precocious" (as per Hollywood Reporter) and "spellbinding" (IndieWire) "Brand New Landscape," before the film’s Japan release on October 10.
For more (in Japanese): https://miharashisedai.com/
Writer-director YUIGA DANZUKA dropped out of Keio University's School of Environment and Information Studies, later graduating from the Film School of Tokyo. His graduation thesis, the short film "Night on the Bridge," was selected and honored at various film festivals, including the Nara International Film Festival, the Sapporo International Short Film Festival, and Tama New Wave. He was then chosen to participate in the government-supported New Directions in Japanese Cinema, and directed "Far, Far Away" (2022), which traveled to several film festivals. His feature debut, "Brand New Landscape," premiered in the Cannes Directors Fortnight.
Producer KENJI YAMAGAMI began his career in art publishing, in the planning and editing of art books and running a gallery. He then moved into the film industry, where he has worked as a crew member on Japanese films and HBO Max's acclaimed US-Japan crime series "Tokyo Vice." He makes his debut as a producer with "Brand New Landscape."
Actor KODAI KUROSAKI made his film debut in "Hoyaman" (2023) and won the Japan Critics Award for Best Newcomer. He has gone on to appear in "She Taught Me Serendipity" (2024) and "Strawberry Moon" (2025), as well as on several popular TV series. He makes his debut in a leading role in "Brand New Landscape."
Please make your reservations at the FCCJ Reception Desk 03 3211-3161 or register online.
All film screenings are private, noncommercial events primarily for FCCJ members and their guests.
- Karen Severns, Film Committee