25th New York Asian Film Festival

July 10-26, 2026

Photo: ©2026 The Brightest Sun Production Committee

North American Premiere

The Brightest Sun

時には懺悔を

Tetsuya Nakashima, director of Confessions and Memories of Matsuko, returns with a murder mystery that opens a rotten case file and finds a family nightmare inside. Private detective Yonemoto has been killed, and plenty of people had reason to want him that way. The case falls to Satake, a former colleague with a damaged family life, and Satoko, a young assistant learning how ugly the job can get. Their investigation leads back to the disappearance of a newborn nine years earlier, and to Arata, a severely disabled boy at the center of the old case. Hidetoshi Nishijima, Hikari Mitsushima, Haru Kuroki, Ko Shibasaki, Kankuro Kudo, Jiro Sato, and Koji Yakusho lead Nakashima's formidable ensemble. Murder is only the entree to this exploration of deep held secrets and love in small corners.

Director: Tetsuya Nakashima
Producer: Yuji Ishida
Screenwriters: Tetsuya Nakashima, Nobuhiro Monma
Cast: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Hikari Mitsushima, Haru Kuroki, Kankuro Kudo, Koji Yakusho
Languages: Japanese with English Subtitles
2026; 129 min.; DCP
Country: Japan

SCHEDULE:

Friday July 17, 9:00pm
Film at Lincoln Center