Desert of Namibia by Japanese director Yoko Yamanaka made its world premiere at the 2024 Directors Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival where Yamanaka became the youngest female director to win the FIPRESCI award.
The film follows the tumultuous life of a 21-year-old woman in Tokyo, navigating a series of volatile relationships and personal crises, leading to misunderstandings and misdiagnoses.
Starring in the movie are Yumi Kawai, Keisuke Horibe, Daichi Kaneko, Kanichiro, Yuzumi Shintani, Makiko Watanabe, and Erika Karata.
At the 2025 Asian Film Awards, Yamanaka was nominated for Best New Director and Kawai for Best Actress.
Kani Releasing will release Desert of Namibia in theaters, starting on May 16 at Metrograph (New York), May 21 at Laemmle (Los Angeles), expanding nationally in select markets.
Desert of Namibia follows mercurial 21-year-old Kana (Yuumi Kawai), a hair-removal technician at a salon in Tokyo, who bristles against the beauty expectations placed on women her age. Her erratic mood and default to self-destruct impacts all of her relationships, as moments of levity erupt into violence and optimism simmers to despair.
Desert of Namibia is Yamanaka’s second feature following her 2017 debut Amiko. Amiko won the Audience Award at Japan’s influential Pia Film Festival for emerging directors, and went on to screen internationally at other film festivals, most notably at the 2018 Berlinale, where Yamanaka became the youngest feature filmmaker in the festival’s history to screen her work.
Loud and Clear Reviews gave the film 3 1/2 stars writing, “Desert of Namibia takes its time in revealing its hand: beyond mere cultural detritus, Kana’s destructive behaviour may be the result of an undiagnosed mental condition. The film is over two hours long and this development comes a good 45 minutes later than it ought to, but the central performances just about suffice to keep one’s interest throughout a bloated second act. It also looks great; a tight, 4:3 aspect ratio and a series of close-ups keep things suitably uncomfortable as Kana deteriorates, while the film’s lush colour palette and immaculately trendy costuming present a vibrant Tokyo somewhat at odds with the characters’ ennui.”
Watch the official trailer for Desert of Namibia.