Rental Family
Southeast Asian Premiere
Hikari US, Japan 2025 110 min M18 (Some Mature Content)
A lonely American actor in Tokyo steps into the lives of strangers, finding new purpose as their stories begin to shape his own.
Phillip, an American actor who has lived alone in Tokyo for the past seven years, spends his evenings gazing wistfully through his window at his neighbours’ lives. His claim to fame is playing a toothpaste superhero in a viral commercial, but his acting career has dried up. After unknowingly accepting a well-paid gig as a mourner at a fake funeral, he gets roped into the world of rental family services, playing borrowed roles in the lives of strangers.
Though tasked with selling emotion to others, Phillip quickly becomes entangled in the genuine connections he builds with his clients. Light-hearted and tender, Rental Family reveals unexpected warmth and gentle hope beneath the loneliness of the modern city.
Synopsis Writer: Bridget Zhang
Q&A with Filmmaker(s)
3 Dec, Wed 9:00PM / 110 min
Golden Village Cineleisure, Hall 3
AT THE FEST!
All screenings are on a free seating, first-come, first-served basis. We kindly ask all ticket holders to arrive on time. Latecomers may not be guaranteed entry.
RUSH QUEUE:
For last-minute attendees, good news. Our Rush Queue is back this year!
Rental Family
Hikari
US, Japan
2025
English, Japanese
English
110 min
M18 (Some Mature Content)
Southeast Asian Premiere
Hikari
Hikari is a Japanese writer, director and producer who works across film and television. Her debut feature, 37 Seconds (2019), won the Berlinale’s Panorama Audience Award and CICAE Art Cinema Award. She is also known for being the pilot director of the Emmy-winning series Beef (2023). Her second feature, Rental Family, premiered at Toronto.
Brendan Fraser,
Takehiro Hira,
Mari Yamamoto,
Shannon Mahina Gorman
Eddie Vaisman,
Julia Lebedev,
Hikari,
Shin Yamaguchi
