Tokyo-based Free Stone Productions has acquired international rights to Berlinale 2025 selection “Seaside Serendipity” and cross-cultural drama “Diamonds in the Sand,” with plans to represent both titles at Berlin’s upcoming European Film Market (EFM).
“Seaside Serendipity,” set to premiere in the Generation section at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival, marks the latest feature from Yokohama Satoko (“Bare Essence of Life,” “The Actor”). The coming-of-age drama follows a 14-year-old art club member and his friends during their summer vacation as they interact with a diverse community of artists who have relocated to their seaside town. The film stars Konosuke Harada, with a supporting ensemble including Kumiko Aso, Kengo Kora, and Ayame Goriki. The film is scheduled for a summer 2025 release in Japan.
“Diamonds in the Sand,” which premiered at Tokyo Filmex 2024, marks Janus Victoria’s directorial debut, and is a Japan-Malaysia-Philippines co-production. The drama stars acclaimed Japanese actor Lily Franky (“Shoplifters”) as a divorced salaryman confronting solitude in Tokyo who follows a Filipina migrant worker to Manila. The film features an international cast including Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Maria Isabel Lopez and Charlie Dizon.
The feature brings together a notable creative team including cinematographer Akiko Ashizawa (“Tokyo Sonata”), editor Soo Mun Thye and sound designer Corrine de San Jose. The film is produced by Lorna Tee, Dan Villegas and Masumi Soga, with executive producers Shozo Ichiyama, Ho Yuhang, Sylvia Sanchez and Jim Baltazar.
Tee said: “This film has taken an extraordinary journey and writer-director Janus Victoria has made an exquisite film against all odds since 2013 and the extraordinary work of the A-list cast and crew from Japan, the Philippines and Malaysia to tell a universal story of urban isolation and connections, is an important film in our times.”
