Hikari: Directing Brendan Fraser in Rental Family & Creating Netflix’s Beef PLUS Award Season Discussion

2026-01-13

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Director Hikari (Beef, Tokyo Vice) joins The Filmmakers Podcast to discuss her new film Rental Family and working with Brendan Fraser. In this inspiring interview, Hikari breaks down her unique journey with Dom Lenoir to chat her journey from stunt extra to award-winning director. She discusses the process of crafting the visual language for the hit Netflix series Beef (directing the pilot), working with Michael Mann on Tokyo Vice,...

Director Hikari (Beef, Tokyo Vice) joins The Filmmakers Podcast to discuss her new film Rental Family and working with Brendan Fraser.

In this inspiring interview, Hikari breaks down her unique journey with Dom Lenoir to chat her journey from stunt extra to award-winning director. She discusses the process of crafting the visual language for the hit Netflix series Beef (directing the pilot), working with Michael Mann on Tokyo Vice, and the emotional journey of making Rental Family. We dive deep into directing actors across different languages, the "fake family" rental phenomenon in Japan, and how she transitioned from her indie breakout 37 Seconds to major studio projects.

Topics discussed:

Directing Brendan Fraser in his first major role since The Whale.
How she set the visual tone for Netflix's Beef.
The cultural differences between filming in Tokyo vs. Hollywood.
Writing Rental Family during the pandemic.
Advice for filmmakers on finding their unique voice.

Rental Family is OUT in CINEMAS NOW

PLUS Giles and Dom discuss this years awards season contenders and the dark horses who might just get a nod.

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