AnyMart

Sakai is the assistant manager at a convenience store, his working days determined by routine. Without any hint of emotion, he deflects the annoying customers and follows the rigid rules which the store owner imposes on the staff. When the ambitious Ogawa is employed part time, Sakai increasingly begins to question his role in the system. The monotonous world of the AnyMart gradually unravels until the boundary between life and death eventually becomes dissolved by the ghosts called forth by consumerism. Carried by current young Nippon stars, this feature debut by commercial filmmaker Yusuke Iwasaki, himself a son of a long-term store owner, uses a crazy mix of off-beat horror, socially critical drama and absurd comedy to hone in on fears about work as well as the feelings of powerlessness towards society, with which the younger generations increasingly see themselves confronted. In the midst of a sea of power lines and grey apartment complexes, the convenience store becomes a heterotopia. Is there still hope in the cold world of late capitalism or must we eternally haunt the sterile aisles of the AnyMart, like chickens packed in plastic? (Charlotte Hafner)

Yusuke Iwasaki was born in 1993 and graduated from Keio University Faculty of Literature. He joined Tohokushinsha Film Corporation in 2017 and made his directorial debut with a commercial in 2019, winning the Grand Prix in the Film category at the 63rd ACC Creativity Awards, Japan’s largest commercial festival. He is known for his static, alienating style centred on dialogue-driven drama. In 2024, he wrote, directed, and released his first short film, Void. The film was selected for numerous festivals including the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Director Yusuke Iwasaki. Screenplay Yusuke Iwasaki. Cinematography Mao Ohkawara. Editing Yuki Omori. Music PAS TASTA. Sound Design Showsuke Asada. Producers Kentaro Hayashi, Yuuri Shimojo, Jun Inoue. Production companies NOTHING NEW (Tokio, Japan), TOHOKUSHINSHA FILM CORPORATION (Tokio, Japan). With Shota Sometani, Erika Karata, Masahiko Nishimura.

World sales NOTHING NEW

Films: 2024: Void (short film). 2026: AnyMart.