Three rising Japanese directors have unveiled details of upcoming projects that are being pitched to potential partners at the EFM in Berlin.
Takeshi Kushida, Shinji Araki and Naoya Kusaba were selected to take part in New Directors from Japan, an initiative to promote upcoming talent on the international scene commissioned by the Japanese government’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, which is now in its fourth year.
The trio is at the market pitching their upcoming projects to prospective funders and co-producers while building a network of potential future partners.
Kushida is a director known for psychological horror My Mother’s Eyes, sold by Reel Suspects, and Acting For Beginners, which opened last year’s Skip City festival in Japan.
His next horror is inspired by the rising influence of artificial intelligence. Titled AI Curse You, it follows a single mother, whose daughter uses AI to recreate her dead father. However, when a mysterious figure curses the mother, the daughter begins to show strange behaviours.
“J-horror deals with psychological fear rather than shock value and examines modern anxieties, of which AI is up there,” said the filmmaker. “My next film will combine the classic ghost story with science fiction.”
Kushida is working on a second draft of the script and is aiming to begin shooting in spring 2026 with Japanese production company Pyramid Film.
Kusaba, whose teacher-turned-rapper drama Yukiko a.k.a. was released in Japan last month, is now developing The Forsaken Boys. It is based on an opera, inspired by the story of Japanese Christians in the 16th century who travelled to Europe to learn more about the religion, only to find it banned when they returned to their home country eight years later.
The director is writing the script now and has begun talks with potential co-production partners in Berlin ahead of a planned shoot in autumn 2026. “There are many people who want to be a part of this film so this trip has been very inspiring,” said Kusaba of his first trip to Europe. “Attending the Berlinale has been a dream and I now want to come back here in the future with my next film.”
Araki is best known for directing Penalty Loop, a time-loop drama that played in competition at last year’s Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival and won three awards at Fantasia. He made his feature debut with 2020’s dystopian drama The Town Of Headcounts, which screened at festivals including Moscow, Vancouver and Nippon Connection.
He is now working on Bunny Fever, a horror in which a mysterious disease kills people who feel lonely. It centres on a woman who is lonely by nature and takes action to avoid the disease. Araki told Screen he has secured 50% of the €1.5m budget and that script development, casting and location scouting is in progress. He is in Berlin seeking co-financing partners to complete the budget as well as post-production support.
No comments yet