Five Japanese filmmakers developed through the Atmovie Global Track will pitch new projects at the Cannes Film Market during the Cannes Film Festival, with the debut timed to Japan‘s designation as Country of Honor at this year’s market.
The accelerator, funded by the Japan Creator Support Fund under the Agency for Cultural Affairs and administered by Japan Arts Council, ran a lab of 14 fellows with international mentors before selecting five projects for a dedicated industry showcase.
“While Japan is often seen as a source of adaptable IP, this initiative highlights creators empowering their own stories to the global market in their own voices,” said Moriya Takeshi, chief producer and founder of the program, whose credits include “Midnight Diner” and “Midnight Swan.”
The selected slate spans tone and genre. Seki Shun’s “Her Voice” follows girls in a juvenile detention center who stage a rehabilitative operetta. Joya Yoshimi’s “Almost Goodbye” centers on a hikikomori man sustaining a false identity through nightly visits to a convenience store. Furuyama Tomomi’s “My Missing Half” is a darkly comic Japan-Philippines road movie rooted in the Filipino manananggal myth. Arai Soji’s “Their Own Sake,” drawn from a true story, tracks a Japanese sake brewer attempting to practice his craft in the Arizona desert alongside his Navajo wife. Miyase Sachiko’s “Portrait of Absence” follows three middle-aged women traveling to Europe in search of a missing friend.
“What’s emerging here is not just Japanese content, but globally viable cinema at script stage,” said Deepti Chawla of Inflixious Content & Art India, a key international collaborator on the initiative and executive producer on Cannes 2024 title “The Shameless” and associate producer on Annecy Grand Prix winner “Sultana’s Dream.” “The focus is on building projects that travel early – structurally, financially and creatively. That shift is what makes this slate relevant to international partners.”
The program’s mentors include James Bang and Jenna Ku of the Busan Asian Film School, whose credits span “The World of Love” and “Little Forest.” A broader network of producers from Japan, the U.S., the U.K., Taiwan, and India is also engaged, among them Eiko Mizuno-Gray (“Plan 75”), Yamaguchi Shin (“Rental Family”), Yanagimoto Chiaki (“Aum”), and Suzuki Lancaster Fumie (“Fujiko”).
The five filmmakers will pitch to producers, financiers, and sales agents during Cannes, with additional curated pitch events and networking receptions planned at the Japan Pavilion.
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