The BFI London Film Festival has added the UK premiere of Hikari’s Rental Family starring Brendan Fraser to the lineup of its 69th edition (Octob
The BFI London Film Festival has added the UK premiere of Hikari’s Rental Family starring Brendan Fraser to the lineup of its 69th edition (October 8-19).
Searchlight Pictures title Rental Family will play as the American Express Gala on Thursday, October 16. It comes to LFF from a world premiere at Toronto in September; it will release in the US on November 21, and in the UK in January 2026.
Japanese director Hikari’s second feature follows an American actor struggling to find purpose until he lands a gig working for a Japanese ‘rental family’ agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers.
Alongside Fraser on the cast are Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Mahina Gorman and Akira Emoto.
The film is produced by Eddie Vaisman, Julie Lebedev, Hikari and Shin Yamaguchi.
“While it’s inspired by a real, and sometimes unusual, business in Japan, it’s ultimately about people longing for connection, and discovering the meaning of true friendship in modern Tokyo,” said Hikari.
The full LFF programme will be unveiled on Wednesday, September 3. The festival will open with Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery starring Daniel Craig.
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