Bestselling Japanese Novelist Maha Harada Says ‘If This Is a Dream, I Hope I Never Wake Up’ About Her San Sebastian – and Busan – Bound Directing Debut ‘In My Father’s Room’

Sep 21, 2026 2:08am PT Bestselling Japanese Novelist Maha Harada Says ‘If This Is a Dream, I Hope I Never Wake Up’ About Her San Sebastian – and Busan – Bound Directing Debut ‘In My Father’s Room’

By Naman Ramachandran

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Naman Ramachandran

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Maha Harada and 'In My Father's Room' ©Tamotsu Fujii/Bitters End

Maha Harada spent two decades building scenes on the page before she ever stood behind a camera.

Now 64, the best-selling Japanese author is making her feature directorial debut with “In My Father’s Room,” a film adapted from her own short story “An Unnecessary Man,” and it arrives in competition at the San Sebastian Film Festival before moving on to the Busan International Film Festival.

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