Nishijima Hidetoshi, Gwei Lun-Mei, Mariko Tetsuya Talk 'Dear Stranger'

Following the explosive violence of “Destruction Babies,” Japanese filmmaker Mariko Tetsuya has pivoted to explore a different kind of devastation in “ Dear Stranger ” — the quiet collapse of a marriage under the weight of unspoken truths and cultural displacement.

The drama, which had its international premiere at the Busan International Film Festival , stars Nishijima Hidetoshi (Oscar-winning “Drive My Car”) and Gwei Lun-Mei (“Black Coal, Thin Ice”). Set against the backdrop of New York, the film follows Kenji (Nishijima), a Japanese professor desperately seeking tenure, and Jane (Gwei), a Taiwanese-American puppeteer struggling to balance motherhood with her artistic identity. When their young son Kai goes missing, the couple’s carefully constructed life begins to unravel.

For