■Toshihisa Hagiwara will play the main character, and Hinata Todo will co-star, and comments have arrived from both.
“I Quit Conquering the World” is the first film written and directed by Takumi Kitamura, who is active as an actor and artist and exhibits multiple talents. The trailer and key visual for this film, which will be released in February 2025 at Human Trust Cinema Shibuya and other theaters nationwide, have been released.
The world premiere will be screened at the “Short Shorts Film Festival Asia 2024 Autumn International Short Film Festival” to be held from October 17th to 27th, and Hayato Isomura’s film will be screened on November 4th. This film is also scheduled to be screened at the new film festival “Shizuoka Film Festival”, which is planned and produced by . One of the most famous songs by the poetry rapper Wonderboy, who gained attention for his unique sense of language and performance, passed away due to an unexpected accident on June 23, 2011. Takumi Kitamura, who was strongly influenced by this song, wrote the script inspired by this song and produced it himself.
The role of the main character, Kanata, will be played by Toshihisa Hagiwara, who is a close friend of director Takumi Kitamura in his private life and who is currently active in dramas and movies. For the role of Hoshino, a colleague who has an impact on the lives of others, Hinata Todo was selected by director Kitamura, who fell in love with her talent and offered her the role. Arata Iura also makes a friendship appearance as the manager of the store that Kanata frequents. In addition, comments from Toshihisa Hagiwara and Hinata Todo have also arrived.
■Toshihisa Hagiwara comment
First of all, I was very happy to receive the script written by Takumi Kitamura as the director and writer. It was my first time appearing in a work created by a friend, and I felt both strange and happy. I was very surprised that a friend of mine, who I used to work with, would write a script like this, and I felt that he was truly versatile, including his ability as a musician. Since we are both players, each and every interaction on site was very smooth and we were able to convey each other’s nuances, which was great. I was a little embarrassed because I was an actor and Takumi was a director, so I was a little embarrassed to interact with him in a different way than usual, but I think Takumi was more like that than me (lol). I was having fun doing it on set, including those things. As for the role, I am very convinced that Takumi prepared this role for me, and I think that Takumi Kitamura could probably play this role as well. I don’t usually use expressions like this when playing a role, but I felt like I was able to capture something deep in my heart.■Todo Hinata comment
Shortly before I was approached about this film, I was exhausted from the daily grind and was on the verge of burning out without relying on others. At that time, the song that Takumi Kitamura told me to listen to was a song by Wonderboy called “Sekai Yamanta”. Tears welled up, my heart regained its warmth, and I repeated it over and over again.
After I contacted him to thank him, a short while later he said, “I’m thinking of making a movie and would you be interested in appearing in it?” At that time, I had no idea in the slightest that I would actually be appearing in the show, and just said that I wanted to appear on the show.
As the story progressed, and the script finally arrived in my hands, I finally started to realize it. The script was sharp, eye-catching, and tinged with resignation, but in typical Takumi Kitamura style, it was very gentle and warm from the bottom of my heart.
I am truly honored to be involved in director Takumi Kitamura’s first work. We all have it, but I hope you can feel even a little bit of the original landscape of each person’s heart that is sleeping somewhere.
(C) “I Quit Conquering the World” Production Committee
Movie information
“I’ve given up on conquering the world”
Released in February 2025 at Human Trust Cinema Shibuya and other locations nationwide
Original idea/Theme song: “I stopped conquering the world” Wonderboy/wonderboy (LOW HIGH WHO? STUDIO)
Planning/Screenplay/Director: Takumi Kitamura
Cast: Toshihisa Hagiwara | Hinata Todo | Arata Iura (friendship appearance)
Production/Production Production: EAST FILM
Takumi Kitamura OFFICIAL SITE
https://dish-web.com/takumikitamura
Toshihisa Hagiwara (C) Kazuki Teranaka
Todo Hinata
