• Japan Premiere

Closing

Miss Osaka

Director: Daniel DENCIK

2021｜Denmark, Norway, Japan｜90min｜Language: Danish, Japanese, English｜Subtitles: Japanese

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Starring

Victoria Carmen SONNE
MORIYAMA Mirai (森山未來)
ABE Junko (阿部純子)
MORIMOTO Nagisa (モリモトナギサ)
Mikkel Boe FØLSGAARD
MINAMI Kaho (南果歩)

Introduction/Story

The first ever Danish-Norwegian-Japanese co-production, "Miss Osaka" is a drama with mystery and thriller elements that emerge in a story where a young woman searching for an identity adopts one from another person. Shot on location in the mist-wreathed forests of Norway and the neon-lit streets of Osaka, the film features an international cast that is led by rising European stars Victoria Carmen SONNE and Mikkel Boe FØLSGAARD as well as major Japanese talent MORIYAMA Mirai (森山未來), ABE Junko (阿部純子), and MINAMI Kaho (南果歩) who were brought on board by YAMAMOTO Teruhisa (山本晃久) ("Wife of a Spy" (スパイの妻), "Drive My Car" (ドライブ・マイ・カー)) who acted as a co-producer to Danish main producer Michael HASLUND-CHRISTENSEN.

Ines (Victoria Carmen SONNE) is a shy woman in search of a purpose. She finds one when, while tagging along on her boyfriend’s business trip to Norway, she meets Maria (MORIMOTO Nagisa (モリモトナギサ)), a mysterious and sensuous woman from Osaka whose polar-opposite personality draws Ines into a fast friendship. What starts out as fun forays into the Norwegian wilderness becomes a juncture of profound change for Ines after Maria disappears and the aimless young woman daringly seizes Maria’s passport, plane ticket, and clothes and heads to Japan to start a new life under the guise of the missing woman. A business card bearing the name of a hostess club, ‘Miss Osaka’, leads Ines into a profession where fantasies can be cast and new identities easily conjured but Ines finds Maria’s past casts a shadow she cannot quite escape as an enigmatic and potentially dangerous man named Shigeru (MORIYAMA Mirai (森山未來)) comes to Miss Osaka in search of his old flame...

About the Cast and Crew

Danish director Daniel DENCIK has an academic background in Philosophy and Film Editing and has split his work between film and literature. His debut documentary “Moon Rider” won the Reel Talent Award at the CphDox - Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival 2012 while “Tal R: The Virgin” won a Danish Academy Award 2014 for best short documentary. His debut narrative feature “Gold Coast” (2015) was shot on location in Ghana and Burkina Faso, and “Miss Osaka”, his second feature film, was shot in Norway and Osaka.

Taking the lead role is Danish actress Victoria Carmen SONNE, a young talent whose performances have gained her notice across Europe. She has won two prestigious Bodil Awards, her first for Best Supporting Actress in 2017 for “In the Blood” and her second for Best Actress in 2019 for her role in “Holiday”. She is joined by Mikkel Boe FØLSGAARD who made an immediate impact on the film world with his debut role in “A Royal Affair” which won him the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival. Acting alongside them are award-winning Japanese stars such as MORIYAMA Mirai, an actor, artist, and dancer active in many areas whose credits include “Crying Out Love in the Center of the World” (世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ), “The Horse Thieves” (オルジャスの白い馬), and “Underdog” (アンダードッグ), ABE Junko (阿部純子), an actress who appeared in “Ring Wandering” (リング・ワンダリング) and whose performance in “Still the Water” (2番目の窓) earned her the Best Actress Award at the Sakhalin International Film Festival, and MINAMI Kaho (南果歩), a veteran talent whose credits include “For Kayako” (伽揶子のために) and “Oh Lucy!” (オー・ルーシー！).

Daniel DENCIK has commented, “Osaka is somewhere I’ve always been drawn to. When I was a boy it sounded like a completely different world. To me this film is about every theme that has filled my mind and imagination since I was a child: luck, destiny, the gift of chance, copies and originals, changing identities, and the pure, raw adventure that is life itself.”

Director's Message

Osaka is somewhere I’ve always been drawn to. When I was a boy it sounded like a completely different world. To me this film is about every theme that has filled my mind and imagination since I was a child: luck, destiny, the gift of chance, copies and originals, changing identities, and the pure, raw adventure that is life itself.

I think every single one of us has dreamt of being someone else. Freed from ourselves for a moment or forever. Miss Osaka is our take on improvising a vanishing trick against the backdrop of reality. A crazy idea made real. We follow our main character on her journey, an exploration of total freedom. We’ve set out to harvest the fruits of uncertainty and used them as our fuel. The world might look sad and lonely, but it’s also cool and full of jazz – and secrets.

Miss Osaka is a film about a unique individual who could be anyone. First she disappears from herself, then she disappears from the outside world. But even a lost soul can find their way home.

Distributor in Japan

Culture Publishers

• Opening / Closing
• Yanagawa
• Miss Osaka