WHEEL OF FORTUNE AND FANTASY
by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Japan, 2021, 121'
An unexpected love triangle, a failed seduction trap and an encounter that results from a misunderstanding
Meiko is startled when she realizes that the man who her best friend starts to have feelings for, is her ex; Sasaki plots to trick his college professor out of revenge, using his class-friend-with-benefits Nao, while Natsuko encounters a woman who seems to be someone from her past, leading the two to confess the feelings they have harbored in their hearts - stories about the complexities of relationships, told through coincidences that happen in the lives of women in love.
Awards
Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize - Berlin IFF 2021
Emeric Pressburger Prize - CineFest Miskolc 2021
Honorable Mention - Haifa IFF 2021
Silver Q-Hugo Prize - Chicago IFF 2021
Montgolfière d’Or; Rfi Wik Audience Award - Festival des 3 Continents 2021
Golden Aphrodite prize - Love is folly 2022
Festivals
World Premiere: Berlin IFF 2021 - Competition
BAFICI 2021
Hong Kong IFF 2021
Moscow IFF 2021
Istanbul IFF 2021
Udine Far East FF 2021
Transilvania IFF 2021
New Horizons IFF 2021
SANFIC Santiago IFF 2021
Karlovy Vary IFF 2021
Manaki Brothers International Cinematographers' FF 2021
Bucharest IFF 2021
CineFest Miskolc IFF 2021
Helsinki IFF 2021
Athens IFF 2021
Zürich FF 2021
Haifa IFF 2021
New York IFF 2021
Black Canvas Festival de Cine Contemporáneo 2021
Bogotá IFF 2021
Melbourne IFF 2021
Beijing IFF 2021
San Sebastián FF 2021
InlanDimensions International Arts Festival 2021
Taipei FF 2021
Busan IFF 2021
Chicago IFF 2021
BFI London IFF 2021
Brisbane FF 2021
San Diego Asian FF 2021
Calgary IFF 2021
Montréal Festival du Nouveau Cinema 2021
ScreenShot: Asia FF 2021
Lisbon & Sintra FF 2021
São Paulo IFF - Mostra 2021
Sydney FF 2021
New Zealand IFF 2021
Japanese FF (Australia) 2021
San Diego Asian FF 2021
Hawai IFF 2021
St. Louis IFF 2021
Semana del Cinea (PE) 2021
Cairo IFF 2021
Goa IFF 2021
QCinema IFF (Quezon City) 2021
Festival des 3 Continents 2021
Films from the South (Oslo) IFF 2021
Chennai IFF 2021
Jogja-NETPAC Asian FF (JAFF) 2021
Haifa FF 2021
Sydney FF 2021
Brisbane IFF 2021
Japanese FF (Australia) 2021
Sydney Travelling FF 2021
LEFFEST – Lisbon & Sintra FF 2021
MOSTRA São Paulo IFF 2021
Asian Film Archive 2021
Festival des Trois Continents 2021
Taipei FF 2021
Inlandimensions Festival 2021
Athens IFF 2021
Far East FF UDINE 2021
Sicilia Queer FF 2021
i-Fest IFF 2021
San Sebastian FF 2021
Alcine (Festival de Cine de Alcalá de Henares) 2021
OUFF – Festival de Cine de internacional de Orense 2021
CIBRA – Festival de Toledo 2021
Independent Film Festival 2021
Cork IFF - Gate Cork 2021
Inverness FF - Eden Court 2021
CINECITY - The Brighton FF - Depot 2021
Cambridge FF 2021
Kerala IFF 2022
Pune IFF 2022
Bengaluru IFF 2022
Stockfish Festival in Reykjavik 2022
Midnight Sun FF 2022
Festival de Cinéma Japonais Contemporain Kinotayo 2022
FICAT (Festival International du Cinéma Asiatique de Tours) 2022
Göteborg FF 2022
Actual Festival – Logroño 2022
Muju Film Festival 2022
Love is folly 2022
Storyhouse - Chester Film Society FF 2022
Alhambra Cinema - Keswick FF 2022
Trsiskel Arts Centre Japanese FF 2022
Garter Lane Arts Centre Japanese FF 2022
Galway Film Society - Palas Japanese FF 2022
Kokkolan Kinojuhlat 2023
Cast & Crew
With: Kotone Furukawa, Ayumu Nakajima, Hyunri, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Katsuki Mori, Shouma Kai, Fusako Urabe, Aoba Kawai
Producer: Satoshi Takata
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
After graduating from the University of Tokyo, Hamaguchi worked in the commercial film industry for a few years before entering the graduate program in film at Tokyo University of the Arts.
He made a festival debut in 2008 with his graduation film Passion at San Sebastian and Tokyo FILMeX. He has been constantly working on films since then. These include the Japan/Korea co-production film THE DEPTHS (2010) and a series of documentary Tohoku Trilogy co-directed by Ko Sakai (Sound of the Waves, Voices from the Waves and Storytellers) from 2011 to 2013. The former two of trilogy are composed by interviews of the victims of the devastating Great Japan Earthquake, and Storytellers is a documentary about research activity in Japanese regional folktales.
In 2015, his 317-minute feature film Happy Hour won major awards at numerous film festivals starting at Locarno FF. His first commercial film Asako I & II was selected for competition at the Cannes FF in 2018. He is also the screenwriter on Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Wife of a Spy, which won the Silver Lion at the 2020 Venice FF.
