[Official Trailer] Desert of Namibia

KANI RELEASING - Desert of Namibia
#yokoyamanaka #yuumikawaii #山中瑶子 #河合優実 #ナミビアの砂漠 #本予告

21-year-old Kana (rising star Yuumi Kawai) works a disaffected job at a beauty salon, where the expectations placed on women her age are plain to see. In her personal life, her mood oscillates between soaring highs and deep lows. Bored with her slavish boyfriend, she begins another relationship, the novel excitement it brings soon devolving into an increasingly volatile predicament. Burning bridges, uncommitted and trapped in her own life, Kana makes her way towards the inner desert of her emotions.

Alternating between claustrophobic blocking, ample zooms and expressive whip-pans brought together by dryly comedic editing and an intense actor’s direction, the sophomore effort from director Yoko Yamanaka (the youngest filmmaker to have a film selected at the Berlin International Film Festival with her 2017 debut Amiko) provides a frank and dynamic examination of womanhood and mental health in contemporary Japan. Inspired by Yasuzo Masumura as much as the Cassavetes/Rowlands collaboration, Yamanaka breaks out with a work of stark confrontational honesty.

Opens in New York at #Metrograph on May 16
Opens in Los Angeles at @laemmle on May 21

World Premiere: Director's Fortnight, 2024
New York Premiere: MOMI First Look Film Festival

KANI RELEASING
Taking its name from the noun “crab” – in reference to Yasujiro Ozu’s custom-made tatami-level tripod – Kani is a new home video label dedicated to leveling the gaze and furthering the availability and understanding of Asian cinema in North America.

Focusing on genre-defying films, Kani aims to expand the canon by bolstering up-and-coming filmmakers as well as reintroducing underseen repertory classics in context.

Website: www.kani-releasing.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/kani.releasing
Trailer Producer: Christopher Cantos (https://www.instagram.com/chriscantoss/)