EXCLUSIVE: Soji Arai, star of the recent series Pachinko and Tokyo Vice, is set for the lead role in Penthouse, an indie thriller from Yakutian filmmaker Stepan Burnashev. Starring opposite him is Irina Mikhailova, an actress also from the Russian republic of Yakutia, who led Burnashev’s previous film Our Winter.
Currently in production in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Penthouse centers on a young couple, Saina (Mikhailova) and David (Arai), who move from the U.S. to Kuala Lumpur, settling into a luxurious penthouse with hopes of starting a new life. However, their dreams quickly turn into a nightmare. Saina begins hearing strange noises and seeing a ghost, losing her grip on reality. David believes this is just her exhausted mind playing tricks, attributing it to postpartum depression, stress, and fatigue. But when Saina starts suspecting that her husband might be involved in these “supernatural” events, the distinction between truth and illusion blurs. Is there really a ghost haunting their home, or is David hiding something far more terrifying?
The production of Penthouse is being handled by Aquila Emas Sdn Bhd in Malaysia and Saidam Baryl LLC in Kyrgyzstan. Burnashev wrote the script with Alexey Ambrosiev and is producing alongside Syarizan Md Isa, with Arai, Vitaly Yakovlev, and Semyon Yakovlev serving as executive producers.
“This project was born at the Busan International Film Festival last year, where we met Syarizan Md Isa during the film market, and we decided we could make a film together. My wife and I then traveled to Malaysia to meet him,” Burnashev shared. “We stayed in an apartment where my wife heard strange male and female voices at night, as if someone was walking around the kitchen and living room. Suddenly, it came to us that this could be the basis for an interesting story, but with an unconventional approach—it’s a story about the people we fall in love with and how they can change drastically in relationships.”
Burnashev explained that the story is “also about childhood traumas, which everyone has, and how they can affect people’s lives, especially in relationships. Many people experience postpartum depression, which at first glance seems like a simple issue, but in reality, it runs much deeper. We explore all of this in our film, which is entirely fictional, yet brings together multiple cultures, languages, and traditions.”
Arai, who connected with the filmmaker while serving as a jury member at the Bishkek Film Festival, discussed his draw to international co-productions like Penthouse, which he views as “vital to the future of film,” as well as the personal resonance for him of stories “that bring visibility to minority experiences.”
Continued the actor, “For filmmakers, highlighting minority communities is essential: people need to see the minority neighbors around them rather than keep them invisible.”
Gaining widespread attention with his performance in Apple TV+’s drama Pachinko, which returned for its second season in August, and Max’s recently wrapped crime drama Tokyo Vice, Arai has also been seen on series including Dead Ringers, Cobra Kai, Legacies and S.W.A.T.
Burnashev has directed 14 films and worked as a screenwriter, editor, or producer on more than 30 projects. One of his most famous films, Aita, was released in 2023 and quickly became the highest-grossing film in Yakutia before being banned by Russian authorities for allegedly promoting nationalism, sparking widespread debate and controversy.
Arai is repped by Luber Roklin Entertainment.
