Kazuya Shiraishi’s 11 Rebels is set to world premiere as the opening film of the 37th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF, October 28 - November 6), which has also set Christophe Honoré’s Marcello Mio as its closing feature.
Based on a previously-unproduced script by late screenwriter Kazuo Kasahara, 11 Rebels is a thriller set in the 19th century and centres on 11 prisoners who are ordered to defend a fortress from the government’s army so their past crimes will be forgiven.
Starring Takayuki Yamada and Taiga Nakano , the screenplay was written by Junya Ikegami based on an original story by Kasahara, known for writing 1970s yakuza films such as Battles Without Honor And Humanity and who died in 2002. Prolific director Shiraishi is known for action thrillers The Blood Of Wolves and its sequel as well as Lesson In Murder.
The film participated at project stage at last year’s Tokyo Gap-Financing Market, held as part of TIFFCOM, the Tokyo festival’s affiliated industry market, and it is set for release in Japan on November 1 through Toei Company. TIFF said the film has also secured North America and German-speaking regions.
The festival’s closing film will be French-Italian comedy Marcello Mio, directed by Christophe Honoré, which played in Competition at Cannes in May. French actress Chiara Mastroianni, who also serves as a jury member at this year’s TIFF, plays a character who turns into her real-life father, Marcello Mastroianni. The cast also includes mother, Catherine Deneuve, and the release of the film marks the 100th anniversary of legendary Italian director Marcello Mastroianni’s birth.
The full line-up of this year’s festival will be announced on September 25.
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