Japanese sales companies come to the market with a raft of titles including Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s latest and Toei’s live-action adaptation of hit manga series Oshi No Ko.
6 Lying University Students
Dir Yuichi Sato
Based on Akinari Asakura’s award-winning novel of the same name, this suspense drama revolves around six students encouraged to work as a team to win jobs at an IT company. But just ahead of being hired, they learn there is only one job available and friends must become rivals to secure the lucrative position. The story has previously been adapted as a manga, radio drama and stage play. The cast includes Hamabe Minami (Godzilla Minus One) and Akaso Eiji (Zom 100: Bucket List Of The Dead). Now in post, a local release is planned in late 2024.
Contact Kadokawa
A Big Home
Dir Ryo Takebayashi
This documentary chronicles a children’s home, exploring the lives of young people who have been separated from their parents due to bereavement, abuse or financial problems. It is Takebayashi’s third feature after 2021 doc Bookmark 14, about 35 teenagers in a school class, and time-loop comedy Mondays: See You ‘This’ Week!, which played at festivals including Sitges and Shanghai in 2023. A Big Home is produced by Chocolate and includes actor/director Takumi Saito (Blank 13) as a producer. A local release is planned for this autumn.
Contact Nikkatsu
Cloud
Dir Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Japanese filmmaker Kurosawa, who won the Silver Lion for best director at Venice in 2020 with Wife Of A Spy, has also written this suspense thriller in which an enigmatic young man tries to make money by reselling shrewdly obtained goods on the internet under the pseudonym Ratel. The lead role is played by award-winning actor Masaki Suda (Wilderness: Part One), who recently voiced the Grey Heron in Hayao Miyazaki’s animation The Boy And The Heron. Cloud is produced by Nikkatsu Corporation and Tokyo Theatres Company and a local release is planned for September. Kurosawa is a Cannes regular, though his mid-length film Chime played at the Berlinale last month. He recently completed shooting on French thriller The Serpent’s Path, starring Damien Bonnard and Ko Shibasaki.
Contact Nikkatsu
A Detective Movie
Dir Yutaka Mizutani
This mystery drama follows a retired police inspector who is visited by a woman claiming he sent her innocent brother to prison 15 years ago and must now revisit the past to uncover the truth. It marks the third feature as director for Mizutani, who is known as a singer and actor in long-running series Aibou: Tokyo Detective Duo. His previous features were 2019’s Leaving The Scene and 2017’s Tap: The Last Show, the latter screening at Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. Written by Takashi Mizutani, the cast has yet to be announced and the film is in pre-production ahead of a planned release in early 2025.
Contact Kadokawa
Oshi No Ko
Dir TBC
Japan’s Toei Company has teamed with Prime Video to produce this live-action adaptation of a hit manga series, written by Aka Akasaka and Mengo Yokoyari, which has sold more than 15 million copies. The feature will star Kaito Sakurai as Aqua, a young man who infiltrates the entertainment world to uncover the truth behind the death of his mother Ai Hoshino, who led a popular idol group. Asuka Saito, formerly of Japanese idol group Nogizaka46, has been cast as Ai. Prime Video will premiere a spinoff series on its global streaming platform later this year and the feature will be distributed locally by Toei.
Contact Toei Company
Promised Land
Dir Masashi Iijima
Set in a rural mountainous region of northern Japan in 1983, this drama centres on two young men who adhere to ancient customs of bear hunting when the snow thaws – in opposition to a newly introduced ban by the government. It marks the feature directing debut of Iijima and stars Rairu Sugita, whose credits include Disney+ series Gannibal and Tatsuya Mori’s Busan award-winning feature September 1923, and Kanichiro of Junji Sakamoto’s Okiku And The World. It is set for release this year.
Contact Free Stone Productions
Voice
Dir Yukiko Mishima
Three stories make up this omnibus feature, which explores themes of lifelong trauma. The segments follow a transgender woman, a farmer faced with the sudden return of his daughter and a woman who was the victim of sexual assault as a child. Each story was also written by A Stitch Of Life director Mishima, with the third tale inspired by her own experiences. The cast is led by Atsuko Maeda, Maki Carrousel and Show Aikawa. It is produced by Bouquet Garni Films.
Contact Free Stone Productions
Worlds Apart
Dir Natsuki Seta
Based on Tomoko Yamashita’s manga Ikoku Nikki – Journal With Witch, this drama centres on a shy author who agrees to take in her teenage niece, whose parents died in a car accident. Once under the same roof, they help each other face past traumas. The cast is led by award-winning actress Yui Aragaki (Mix) and newcomer Ikoi Hayase. Director Seta’s feature film credits include A Liar And A Broken Girl (2011) and Parks (2017). She has also helmed several TV drama series, including Tokyo Alice (2017). A local release for Worlds Apart is planned for June.
Contact Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures
No comments yet