Hikari’s Rental Family Announced as AMEX Gala for 69th London Film Festival
The 69th London Film Festival is fast approaching (woohoo!), and another major screening has just been announced: This year’s American Express Gala will be the UK Premiere of Hikari‘s Rental Family on 16th October at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, with director Hikari and star Brendan Fraser expected to attend.
Set in modern-day Tokyo, Rental Family follows American actor (Brendan Fraser) who, on his pursuit for purpose lands an unusual gig, working for a Japanese “rental family” agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. Immersed into the lives of his clients he begins to form genuine connections which blur the lines of performance and reality. As he confronts the moral complexities of his work, he rediscovers purpose and the beauty of human connection. Rental Family stars Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Mahina Gorman and Akira Emoto. Directed and co-written by Hikari (37 Seconds, Beef), produced by Eddie Vaisman, Julie Lebedev (Sight Unseen) and Shin Yamaguchi.
Soundtracked to the drums and chimes of David Byrne‘s ‘Glass, Concrete and Stone’ (I’m not crying, you are) the trailer for Rental Family presents Fraser and the “token white guy” of the agency, as he tackles the behemoth task of pretending to be a young girls father. Effortlessly humorous and with tender exchanges of dialogue — “These people look at you like they’ve been waiting for you their whole lives. And what you’ll discover, is that they stay with you” — inspire me with hope, that Rental Family will present audiences with an authentic and vulnerable examination of human connection, whilst showcasing a culture which Western audiences, similarly to Brendan Fraser in the trailer, may not fully understand or embrace yet.
The UK Premiere of Rental Family is Hikari’s second feature film, and marks her return to London Film Festival following the presentation of her debut 37 Seconds at the 63rd edition of the festival back in 2019.
Hikari expressed her excitement and hopes upon returning to the festival:
“I feel so humbled and honoured to return to the 2025 BFI London Film Festival with my second feature, Rental Family, and with a gala presentation! While it’s inspired by a real, and sometimes unusual, business in Japan, it’s ultimately about people longing for connection, and discovering the meaning of true friendship in modern Tokyo. I hope Rental Family offers a bit of escapism to Japan and a few laughs!”
Rental Family will be released in the UK in January 2026, but Hikari’s sophomore feature looks to be a sincerely beautiful edition to this years London Film Festival, and so as always, I urge you to see it on the silver screen.
Venues:
- Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall for red-carpet galas
- BFI Southbank acts as the home of competition programme, series, Screen Talks and free events
- BFI IMAX will host LFF screenings
- Marie Rambert Studio, Rambert, BFI IMAX and BFI Southbank will screen LFF Expanded works
- Picturehouse Central will host press and industry screenings
- Partner Cinemas in London West End include: Curzon Mayfair, Curzon Soho, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), Prince Charles Cinema and Vue West End.
- Festival venues across UK include:
- Broadway Cinema, Nottingham
- Chapter, Cardiff
- Filmhouse, Edinburgh
- HOME, Manchester
- MAC, Birmingham
- National Science and Media Museum, Bradford
- Queen’s Film Theatre, Belfast
- Showroom Cinema, Sheffield
- Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle
- Watershed, Bristol
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