Japanese star Rinko Kikuchi is returning to the Sundance Film Festival for the second time as a lead actor, bringing the multilingual drama “Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!” to Park City’s U.S. Dramatic Competition.
The Tokyo-set feature, directed by Josef Kubota Wladyka, marks Kikuchi’s first Sundance selection since 2014’s “Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter.”
Kikuchi, who received an Academy Award nomination for her breakout role in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Babel,” portrays Haru, a ballroom dancer processing the loss of her husband and dance partner Luis while navigating desire and reinvention. The role required intensive preparation, including six months of ballroom dance training to convincingly portray the character’s deep connection
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