Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Cinema Series welcomes movie fans to enjoy preview screenings of the best of Hollywood, independent, and festival films prior to their release in theaters or streaming.
Deadline’s chief film critic Pete Hammond moderates an in-person Q&A with co-screenwriter Stephen Blahut, and producers Eddie Vaisman and Julia Lebedev.
Filmmaker Hikari said there are currently about 300 “rental family” companies in Japan.
She attributes the rise of this uncommon business to modern day loneliness, isolation, and a lack of societal acceptance surrounding therapy in her native country. In Japan, she says, mental health services are not as easily accessible as in the United States, even via telehealth. Japanese would rather share their thoughts and feelings with a stranger instead of a therapist.
Takehiro Hira ("Shogun"), who plays the owner of the “rental family” business in the film, spent time interviewing employees at similar companies in Tokyo. He was particularly moved by the story of an elderly woman who hired an actor to sleep in her guest room so she wouldn’t feel lonely.
This Q&A recorded October 7 following the screening at the Landmark Westwood Theater.
Learn more at bit.ly/3NNzJ4T
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#cinemaseris #film #rentalfamily #hikari #petehammond #japan
Cinema Series welcomes movie fans to enjoy preview screenings of the best of Hollywood, independent, and festival films prior to their release in theaters or streaming.
Deadline’s chief film critic Pete Hammond moderates an in-person Q&A with co-screenwriter Stephen Blahut, and producers Eddie Vaisman and Julia Lebedev.
Filmmaker Hikari said there are currently about 300 “rental family” companies in Japan.
She attributes the rise of this uncommon business to modern day loneliness, isolation, and a lack of societal acceptance surrounding therapy in her native country. In Japan, she says, mental health services are not as easily accessible as in the United States, even via telehealth. Japanese would rather share their thoughts and feelings with a stranger instead of a therapist.
Takehiro Hira ("Shogun"), who plays the owner of the “rental family” business in the film, spent time interviewing employees at similar companies in Tokyo. He was particularly moved by the story of an elderly woman who hired an actor to sleep in her guest room so she wouldn’t feel lonely.
This Q&A recorded October 7 following the screening at the Landmark Westwood Theater.
Learn more at bit.ly/3NNzJ4T
~~~~~~
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: bit.ly/3wiFfZ2
Follow us:
Instagram: instagram.com/pbssocal
TikTok: tiktok.com/@pbssocal
Facebook: facebook.com/pbssocal
Sign-up for our Newsletter: pbssocal.org/newsletter
#cinemaseris #film #rentalfamily #hikari #petehammond #japan
