1 of 5 | Brendan Fraser stars in “Rental Family,” a film that will screen at the BFI London Film Festival gala. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
Rental Family, written and directed by Hikari and starring Brendan Fraser and Takehiro Hira, will screen at the 69th annual London Film Festival gala Oct. 16.
The event at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall will mark the movie’s London premiere, with Hikari (37 Seconds, Beef) and Fraser (The Whale) expected to attend.
In Rental Family, Fraser portrays an actor who reluctantly accepts a role from an agency that rents out family members to people living in the Tokyo area.
“As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality,” an official synopsis reads. “Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he rediscovers purpose, belonging and the quiet beauty of human connection.”
Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Mahina Gorman and Akira Emoto also star in the film.
A preview shows Fraser’s character agreeing to portray a father figure in a family.
When his so-called daughter meets him, she declares “I hate you!”
The film is set for a November release in the United States and in January 2026 in Britain.
“I feel so humbled and honored to return to the 2025 BFI London Film Festival with my second feature…” said Hikari in a statement. “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.”
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery will open this year’s BFI London Film Festival, which runs Oct. 8 to 19. Both Wake Up Dead Man and Rental Family will also screen at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
