Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle

Second feature film directed by French filmmaker Arthur Harari, presented in the Un Certain Regard section of the 74th edition of the Cannes International Film Festival, awarded the Special Jury Prize and the Best Screenplay Award at the 18th edition of the Seville Film Festival and award for best original screenplay at the 47th César Awards ceremony, where it was nominated for three other awards. Based on the true story about Hirô Onoda, a Japanese soldier who spent 29 years hiding in the Philippine jungles and was the last Japanese soldier to surrender after World War II, in 1974.

Hirô Onoda (Yûja Endô) is a young Japanese man who does not want to die for his country, unlike his other compatriots, capable of sacrificing themselves for their nation. This character trait of his led him to be selected and sent to a secret section of the army, where he was trained in guerrilla warfare before being transferred to the Philippines, on the Lubang island. However, shortly after beginning this mission, Japan capitulated to the Allies, ending World War II.

However, for Onoda, who has been assigned as a second lieutenant, and is withdrawn to the center of the island with a handful of men, all signs of defeat are just lies of the US military. This will take him to live almost 30 years hidden in the Philippine jungle before laying down his arms, something he only did when his superior ordered him to, something that did not happen until 1974, after the last survivor of the battalion.

International co-production led by France, in which Japan also participates, as well as third countries such as Belgium, Germany, Italy and Cambodia. Directed by Arthur Harari, who wrote the screenplay along with Vincent Poymiro. Starring Yûya Endô, Kanji Tsuda, Yûya Matsuura, Tetsuya Chiba, Kai Inowaki, Shinsuke Kato, Taiga Nakano, Issei Ogata, Nobuhiro Suwa, Mutsuo Yoshioka, Tomomitsu Adachi, Kyûsaku Shimada, Angeli Bayani and Jemuel Cedrick Satumba.