Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s latest feature, All Of A Sudden, has been selected as Japan’s entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards.
The Japanese-French-language drama premiered to an 11-minute standing ovation at Cannes and went on to win a Best Actress prize for both of its stars, Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto.
Set in France and Japan, All of a Sudden follows Marie-Lou (Efira), the director of a care facility for the elderly, who is determined to introduce an innovative philosophy of care rooted in listening and respect for residents’ dignity, despite resistance from members of her staff. Her path is profoundly reshaped by an encounter with Mari (Okamoto), a Japanese theater director battling cancer. As the two women form a deep friendship, they join forces in a shared struggle to make the impossible possible.
Hamaguchi co-wrote the screenplay with Léa Le Dimna, loosely adapting the book of writings by Makiko Miyano and Maho Isono, When Life Suddenly Takes a Turn: Twenty Letters Between a Philosopher with Terminal Cancer and a Medical Anthropologist.
The film is produced by David Gauquié, Julien Deris, Jean-Luc Ormières and Renan Artukmaç for France’s Cinefrance Studios; Hiroko Matsuda, Kosuke Oshida and Yuji Sadai for Japan’s Office Shirous and Bitters End; Bettina Brokemper for Germany’s Heimatfilm; and Joseph Rouschop for Belgium’s Tarantula.
Neon will open the film in theaters on Nov. 25.
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