ALL OF A SUDDEN

(Soudain / Kyū ni guai ga waruku naru)

Special Screening |  France, Japan, Germany, Belgium | 2026 | Drama | Japan’s Official 2027 Oscar Entry | 196 min | In French and Japanese with English subtitles

Directed by: Ryūsuke Hamaguchi
Written by: Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, Léa Le Dimna
Based on the Work by: Makiko Miyano & Maho Isono
Produced by: David Gauquié, Julien Deris, Jean-Luc Ormières & Renan Artukmaç (Cinéfrance Studio), Charlotte Dauphin (Marignan Films), Yuji Sadaï (Bitters End), Kôsuke Oshida & Hiroko Matsuda (Office Shirous), Bettina Brokemper (Heitmanfilm), Joseph Rouschop (Tarantula Belgique), Arte France Cinéma
Cinematography: Alan Guichaoua
Original Score: Samuel Andreyev
Film Editing: Azusa Yamazaki
Cast: Virginie Efira (Marie-Lou), Tao Okamoto (Mari), Kodaï Kurosaki (Tomoki Kubodera), Jean-Charles Clichet (Olivier), Gabriel Dahmani (Djibril), Jean-Louis Garçon (Kevin), Héloïse Janjaud (Vanessa), Heidi Becker-Babel (Marion), Marie Bunel (Sophie)
International Sales: Cinéfrance International
US Distribution: Neon
US Release date: November 25, 2026

Synopsis

Paris nursing-home director Marie-Lou strives to introduce an innovative, more humane approach to eldercare, but encounters resistance from all sides. Then she meets Mari, a terminally-ill Japanese theater director, and their immediate, profound friendship reshapes her vision. Ryūsuke Hamaguchi‘s transcendent French-language debut was inspired by the correspondence between two other women – a Japanese philosopher and anthropologist. Deftly weaving together discussions on life, death, capitalism, democracy and “making the impossible possible,” his delicate, life-affirming new film is nothing short of miraculous.

Director’s bio

Writer/director Ryūsuke Hamaguchi made his first three features and several shorts before even completing graduate film school in Tokyo, which culminated with his thesis film, Passion (2008). He gained international recognition with Happy Hour (2015), which won the Audience Award at the Nantes Three Continents Festival. That was followed by Asako I & II (2018) and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (2021), which won the Silver Bear in Berlin. Drive My Car (2021) won three prizes in Cannes, including Best Screenplay; was named Best Film by New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Los Angeles and the National Society of Film Critics Associations; and won the Academy Award for Best International Feature, as well as nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director Oscars. His last feature, Evil Does Not Exist (2023), won the Grand Jury Prize in Venice. All of a Sudden premiered in this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where the film’s two luminous leads, Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto, shared the Cannes Best Actress award.