| Diamonds in the Sand | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Janus Victoria |
| Written by | Janus Victoria |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | Lily Franky |
| Cinematography | Akiko Ashizawa |
| Edited by | Mun Thye Soo |
| Music by | Jai Saldajeno |
Release dates |
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| Countries |
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| Language | Japanese |
Diamonds in the Sand is a 2024 drama film written and directed by Philippine author-documentary director Janus Victoria in her feature film directorial debut. The film stars Lily Franky as a divorced Japanese salaryman who decided to move to the Philippines, where he believed that no one would be alone. It also stars Charlie Dizon, Maria Isabel Lopez, Soliman Cruz, Stefanie Ariane, and Kazuko Yoshiyuki in one of her final film roles before her death in September 2025.
A Philippine-Japanese-Malaysian co-production, the film was first premiered in Japan on 23 November 2024.
The film follows Yoji, a divorced Japanese salaryman who lives alone in Tokyo and takes care of his elderly mother. However, when she died and was warned by her Filipina caregiver about the cases of lonely death, he decided to move to Manila, where he would never feel alone.
In 2010, author and documentary director Janus Victoria became fascinated with the topic of kodokushi (lonely death) after she met the people behind the said topic, commissioned by NHK. [1] With this, she made the concept and was then presented to the people of the 2013 Talents Tokyo, the talent development program for Asian filmmakers which is commissioned by the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix. [2]
With the help of producers Lorna Tee and Masugi Soga, Victoria spent a total of 11 years bringing the concept into a feature film, five of which were allocated to making the storyline and screenplay. [2]
As part of preparing for the role of Minerva, actress Maria Isabel Lopez underwent Japanese language training for two months, with the help of a tutor. She further stated that 95 percent of the film's written dialogue is in the said language. [1]