Neo Sora, who previously directed the concert film Opus for his father, legendary musician Sakamoto Ryuichi, makes his feature debut with Happyend. The Japanese American filmmaker writes and directs this coming-of-age story that premiered in the Horizons section of the 81st Venice International Film. Set in Tokyo in the near future, Happyend follows two high school boys portrayed by Hidaki Yukito and Kurihara Hayao, who won Best Newcomer at the 18th Asian Film Awards for his performance. After the boys pull a prank on the principal, a surveillance system gets installed at school, and the two friends react to the situation in different ways.