| Project |
Topography of Solitude
| No. |
27 |
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Director
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NAKAI Noemie |
| Country |
Japan |
|---|
| Producer |
WATANABE Satch |
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| Production Company |
Triscope Pictures |
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| Writer |
NAKAI Noemie |
|---|
| Genre |
Drama, Mystery |
|---|
| Running time |
110min |
|---|
| Project Status | Script Development |
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Director’s Profile
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Noemie got her start as an actor starring in auteur indies for Kawase Naomi and Fukada Koji, and national hits Death Note (Sato Shinsuke, 2016) and TV mini-series Never Let Me Go.
Her first short, The Last Dream (2017), was shown at numerous film festivals, and chosen by Film Movement to be distributed on their DVD release of After the Storm (Koreeda Hirokazu, 2016).
She was then commissioned to write and direct You (2018), an intriguing series for streaming giant iQiyi. Her latest shorts, Touch (2019) and Tears Teacher (2019), are now successfully touring the festival circuit.
She was selected as a ′Female Filmmaker Under 30 to Watch′ at Breakthroughs Film Festival 2018, and has recently joined the BFI Network x BAFTA Crew 2019 program as a rising writer/director, where she will develop her first feature. |
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Producer’s Profile
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Watanabe Satch is an international producer working in the US and Japan. He began his career as a sales agent for Japanese entertainment companies, Kodansha and Shogakukan, selling prominent film rights to U.S. studios.
Satch produced and directed the PSA Unite for Japan (2011), after a disastrous earthquake hit northern Japan; featuring appearances by actors including Clint Eastwood, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, Johnny Depp, and Ben Stiller.
Satch also co-produced The Sea of Trees (Gus Van Sant, 2015), starring Matthew McConaughey, and executive produced The Outsider (Martin Zandvliet, 2018), starring Jared Leto.
Next, Satch is set to produce Lee Sang-Il’s No No Boy and Patrick Dickinson’s Cottontail, starring Watanabe Ken. |
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Synopsis |
After her Brazilian boyfriend goes missing, Karen seeks emotional refuge by working in the unique Japanese ‘family rental’ industry, in which people rent her to play their relatives.
When she discovers that her partner was in fact killed by the police, Karen decides to put her fake relationships to use in order to go after Irie, the cop with whom her partner was last seen. She becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue and illegality, discovering that not only is Irie perpetrating shady deportations, but also that he is secretly gay and dating George, her only friend.
Threatening to reveal his sexuality, she forces him to admit he hushed up her boyfriend’s disappearance.
George begs Karen to give up her revenge but, feeling betrayed, she sets up a fake wedding; she will hire herself to play Irie′s bride and confront him in public. Her plans are turned upside down, however, when she discovers that her own boyfriend was hired to date her.
Riddled with self-doubt, she has to choose between prosecuting Irie and opening a can of worms, or letting go of her vengeance and helping him and George stay together.
Realizing that she can save her friend′s relationship, she finds the courage to let go, and files a motion to dismiss.
This story is based on real events. In 2010, Awudu Suraj died while being deported from Japan. In a country where immigration is taboo, Suraj′s death has been completely ignored by the press.
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