‘Drive My Car’ Star Nishijima Hidetoshi’s Busan, Golden Horse Title ‘Dear Stranger’ Unveils International Trailer (EXCLUSIVE)

Mariko Tetsuya’s cross-cultural drama “Dear Stranger” has unveiled its international trailer.

Following its Sept. 12 theatrical release in Japan, the film made its international premiere at the Busan International Film Festival and will serve as the closing film at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film Festival.

Starring Nishijima Hidetoshi (Oscar-winning “Drive My Car”) and Gwei Lun-Mei (“Black Coal, Thin Ice”), “Dear Stranger” follows an Asian couple in New York whose marriage unravels when their young son goes missing. The film explores themes of identity, isolation and communication across cultures through what Mariko describes as “cold violence” – the silent cruelty within intimate relationships.

Mariko, who won Locarno’s best emerging director Award for “Destruction Babies” (2016), developed the project during his 2019 residency at Harvard University’s Reischauer Institute. The experience of living as an outsider in America informed the film’s examination of cultural displacement and linguistic barriers.

Shot entirely on location in New York in late 2024, the production featured an international crew including cinematographer Sasaki Yasuyuki, editor Matthieu Laclau, and composer Jim O’Rourke. Puppetry director Blair Thomas created sequences that reflect the wife’s artistic background and immigrant experience.

With 90% of dialogue in English, the production required extensive table readings to help the multilingual cast internalize their roles.

Roji Films and Toei present the feature, with world sales handled by EST N8 and Toei. Distribution is set through Toei in Japan, The Jokers Films in France, and Applause Entertainment in Taiwan.

Watch the international trailer here: