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Dear Stranger

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International Premiere, A Window on Asian Cinema, 2025

Dear Stranger

디어 스트레인저Dear Stranger／ディア・ストレンジャー

Director MARIKO Tetsuya

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Official selection

Family/ChildCrime/ViolencePsychology/Mystery/Suspence/Thriller

What shape does the ideal family take? Dear Stranger unfolds as a narrative of catastrophe, one that befalls a family chasing their dreams while seeking a peaceful everyday life. Kenji, a Japanese professor aspiring for a tenure track position, and Jane, a Taiwanese-American puppeteer, appear to have built a happy home in New York with their son Kai. As Jane becomes more deeply immersed in her life as a mother, she struggles to hold on to her own dreams, which seem to drift further away. One day, Kai goes missing, and the fragments of memory that remain begin to intrude upon Kenji and Jane’s lives. Dear Stranger is an extraordinary work brimming with the tension and vitality generated by the compelling performances of Nishijima Hidetoshi and Gwei Lun-Mei, seamlessly interwoven with suspense. Through the film, director Mariko Tetsuya demonstrates that life’s course continues even amid the ruins left behind by tragedy.

Programme note by MOON Juhwa

Stills5

Dear Stranger 1 — Roji Films, TOEI COMPANY, LTD.

Dear Stranger 2 — Roji Films, TOEI COMPANY, LTD.

Dear Stranger 3 — Roji Films, TOEI COMPANY, LTD.

Dear Stranger 4 — Roji Films, TOEI COMPANY, LTD.

Dear Stranger 5 — Roji Films, TOEI COMPANY, LTD.

Screenings3

Thu, 09/18

09:0011:43

LOTTE CINEMA Centum City 4

051Guest Q&AKE, Korean subtitles + English subtitles or English dialogue

Sat, 09/20

13:3015:48

Busan Community Media Center Open Hall

236KE, Korean subtitles + English subtitles or English dialogue

Wed, 09/24

16:3018:48

CGV Centum City 6

514KE, Korean subtitles + English subtitles or English dialogue

Film details

Director: MARIKO Tetsuya
Original title: Dear Stranger／ディア・ストレンジャー
Country/Region: Japan, Taiwan, United States
Year: 2025
Length: 138min
Section: A Window on Asian Cinema
Edition: Busan International Film Festival 2025, No. 30
Original language: Japanese
Premiere: International Premiere
Format: DCP, Color
Selection: Official selection
Elsewhere: Festival page Letterboxd IMDb Wikidata TMDB Douban

Director

MARIKO Tetsuya

Credits

Director: MARIKO Tetsuya
Cast: Hidetoshi NISHIJIMA, GWEI LUN-MEI
Screenplay: MARIKO Tetsuya
Cinematography: Yasuyuki SASAKI, Rikuo UENO
Production design: Sonia FOLTARZ
Editing: Matthieu LACLAU
Sound: Hiroaki KANACHI, WU CHEN-YU, TU DUU-CHIH
Music: Jim O′ROURKE
Production company: TOEI COMPANY, LTD., Roji Inc.

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Dear Stranger — jaMain posterMain poster for ja

Dear Stranger — zh-hantMain poster for zh-hant

Dear Stranger — zh-hant-hkMain poster for zh-hant-hk

Dear Stranger — enMain poster for en

Dear Stranger — en

Dear Stranger — en

Dear Stranger — ja

Dear Stranger — zh-hant

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