A true story from Takashi Miike, an adaptation of a Kazuo Ishiguro novel and a horror sequel are being introduced by Japanese sellers at EFM.
Festival
The Longing
Dir. Toshizo Fujiwara
This social drama, which has its world premiere in Panorama, is directed and co-written by Fujiwara, better known as an actor in features such as Takeshi Kitano’s A Scene At The Sea (1991) and Fred Schepisi’s Mr. Baseball (1992). Fujiwara also plays a supporting role in this story of a couple who hire young people fresh out of juvenile detention to help turn their lives around. Based on Fujiwara’s play of the same name, the cast is led by young actor Daiki Ido. Fujiwara’s previous feature as a director was 2014’s The Sky And Beyond.
Contact: Toshizo Produce
Seaside Serendipity
Dir. Satoko Yokohama
Set over a summer in a seaside town known to attract artists, this film comprises a series of vignettes that follow a group of young friends as they interact with a diverse community. The film receives its world premiere here in Generation Kplus. Yokohama, who also wrote the screenplay, is known as the director of 2015 comedy The Actor, which played Tokyo and Edinburgh, and drama Itomichi, which won best film at Osaka Asian Film Festival in 2021. A local release is scheduled for this summer.
Contact: Miyuki Takamatsu, Free Stone Productions
Underground
Dir. Kaori Oda
This hybrid documentary, which plays in Forum, captures a range of underground landscapes from Okinawa to Hokkaido, with the footage shot on 16mm and used as a metaphor for buried memories and collective consciousness. Oda has directed numerous short and mid-length documentaries as well as several feature documentaries, including 2023’s mid-length Gama, which screened at MoMA Doc Fortnight and Cinéma du Reel.
Contact: Parallax Films
Market
A Bad Summer
Dir. Hideo Jojo
Takumi Kitamura (Tokyo Revengers) stars as a civil servant who falls in love with a recipient of welfare benefits and gets inadvertently involved in a yakuza conspiracy. Directed by Jojo (On The Edge Of Their Seats), the cast also includes Yumi Kawai from Cannes 2024 Directors’ Fortnight title Desert Of Namibia, A Girl Named Ann and She Taught Me Serendipity. The latter pair both played at Tokyo last year. A Bad Summer is set for local release on March 20.
Contact: Haruka Sakumi, Kadokawa
Diamonds In The Sand
Dir. Janus Victoria
Lily Franky of Palme d’Or winner Shoplifters stars as a lonely salaryman in Tokyo who decides to travel to Manila with a Filipina migrant worker. The Japan-Malaysia-Philippines co-production premiered at Tokyo Filmex 2024 and marks the debut feature of Manila-based Victoria, who has helmed multiple documentaries. Producers are Lorna Tee, Dan Villegas and Masumi Soga.
Contact: Miyuki Takamatsu, Free Stone Productions
Fires On The Plain
Dir. Shinya Tsukamoto
Rights are newly available on the 10th anniversary of this harrowing war film, which adapts the semi-autobiographical 1951 novel by Shohei Ooka about illness and starvation in the Philippines at the tail-end of the Second World War. The film originally played in competition at Venice in 2014. Nikkatsu also holds the international rights for 11 other films by Tsukamoto including the seminal Tetsuo: The Iron Man and Venice 2023 award winner Shadow Of Fire.
Contact: Ruka Okuyama, Nikkatsu
Kisaragi Station Re:
Dir. Jiro Nagae
This horror film is the sequel to 2022’s Kisaragi Station, which was based on an urban legend about a fictitious train station that is host to paranormal incidents. Nagae (Nightmare Resort) returns to the director’s chair for the sequel, which stars Miyu Honda and Yuri Tsunematsu reprising their roles. A release is being planned for later this year.
Contact: Hakuhodo DY
A Light In The Harbor
Dir. Michihito Fujii
Fujii directs a film about the unlikely bond between a blind orphan and an ex-yakuza, who steals money from his former gang to pay for surgery that may allow the youngster to see. The film is in post-production and set for release this winter. Fujii is known for 2019’s The Journalist, which won three prizes at Japan’s Academy Awards, including best film. His recent title 18x2 Beyond Youthful Days is a romantic drama that played Hong Kong and sold well internationally.
Contact: Saka Kota, Toei
Love Song
Dir. Weerachit Thongjila
This Thai-Japan collaboration is about two young Japanese men who reunite in Bangkok after several years and end up in a complicated romance. Director Weerachit is known for popular Thai “boys’ love” TV series 1000 Years Old and 2gether. Love Song stars Myanmar-born, Japan-based Win Morisaki (Ready Player One) and Thailand-born, Japan-based Koji Mukai of boy band Snow Man. It is in post-production and due to be completed this autumn.
Contact: Haruka Sakumi, Kadokawa
My Love Story With Yamada-kun At Lv999
Dir. Yuka Yasukawa
An adaptation of a popular manga, which was also adapted into a TV anime series, this film follows a university student who falls in love with a member of her online gaming guild. The manga has sold more than 3 million copies in Japan. Yasukawa is known as the director of The Nighthawk’s First Love (2021) and 2024 TV series Love Is Better The Second Time Around, also based on a manga. My Love Story is in post-production ahead of a planned local release on March 28.
Contact: Haruka Sakumi, Kadokawa
A Pale View Of Hills
Dir. Kei Ishikawa
This adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s 1982 novel unravels a Japanese widow’s memories, which move between 1950s Japan and 1980s England. It stars frequent Hirokazu Kore-eda collaborator Suzu Hirose (The Third Murder) and Fumi Nikaido (Shogun). Director Ishikawa’s thriller A Man premiered at Venice in 2022 and won several Japanese Academy Awards, including best film and best director. A Pale View Of Hills is produced by Kore-eda’s Bunbuku, the UK’s Number 9 Films and Poland’s Lava Films.
Contact: Keiko Yoshida, Gaga
Sham
Dir. Takashi Miike
The first film based on a true work of investigative journalism by genre master Miike (Audition, 13 Assassins), Sham centres on a teacher accused of child abuse. However, things take an unexpected turn during the trial. The original non-fiction book was an award winner in Japan, and the film is in post-production and set for release this year. Miike’s drama Big Bang Love, Juvenile A premiered at the Berlinale in 2006.
Contact: Saka Kota, Toei
What Should We Have Done?
Dir. Tomoaki Fujino
Mental health is at the centre of this documentary, which has proved a sleeper hit at the Japan box office. It centres on director Fujino’s own sister, a medical student who began to show signs of schizophrenia in 1983, and his parents, who refused to seek treatment and confined her to the home. Fujino shot footage from 2001 until his sister’s death in 2021. The film is produced by Zou-Shima.
Contact: Ruka Okuyama, Nikkatsu
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