Tokyo-based production company K2 Pictures closed its K2P Film Fund I at $33 million and unveiled a 10-title slate at a press conference at Cannes, with the session anchored by the world premiere of a teaser trailer for “Shumei – The Living Legacy of Kabuki,” auteur Miike Takashi‘s inaugural documentary feature.
The fund closed in February with Mitsubishi UFJ Bank and the Development Bank of Japan among its principal backers. K2 Pictures also announced $67 million in debt financing secured alongside the fund, bringing its total financing to $100 million. Three productions backed by the fund are now complete – one of which opened theatrically in February – with three more in post-production and five further titles scheduled for release between June and December 2026. An additional five productions are set to begin shooting before year’s end.
“Shumei – The Living Legacy of Kabuki,” slated for a September release, turns Miike’s camera on the succession ceremony in which Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII formally inherited the storied Danjūrō name in Kabuki, Japan’s classical performing art. The film records the behind-the-scenes preparations for the actor’s name-inheritance debut performance. “Who exactly is Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII Hakuen? I want to ask this question in the simplest terms,” said Miike. “Danjuro Hakuen’s Kabuki is not merely Kabuki. It delves into the very essence of entertainment. This is a documentary that captures that journey.”
“I am truly grateful and honored that the name Danjuro, passed down through generations over a long history, will be preserved for posterity in this film,” said Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII.
Among the newly announced projects, director Nagata Koto – whose previous feature “Baka’s Identity” competed at last year’s Busan International Film Festival and swept four prizes at the 35th Japan Film Critics Awards including best picture and best director – will helm “The Nuke Crab,” a social noir set in Fukushima in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake. The screenplay is co-written by novelist Akamatsu Riichi, drawing on his own experiences as a decontamination worker, and filmmaker Iwai Shunji, who also serves as executive producer.
Director Otomo Keishi, known for the “Rurouni Kenshin” franchise and Netflix’s “10Dance,” will helm “Conde Koma,” a Japan-Brazil-U.S. co-production tracing the life of Mitsuyo Maeda, the Japanese jujutsu master whose global travels are credited with sparking the development of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and contemporary MMA.
Director Kato Takuya, whose theater work has taken him to London and Taipei, will helm “Nap,” an experimental Japan-France-Iceland co-production centered on a protagonist with social eating phobia who develops a sleep allergy – a conceit the film uses to interrogate what it means to share a life with another person.
Further newly announced titles include “Gigant,” an animated feature based on manga artist Hiroya Oku’s series of the same name, marking K2 Pictures’ first foray into animation; a Mexico-Japan horror project from director Katayama Shinzo – a former assistant to Bong Joon-ho who subsequently helmed “Siblings of the Cape” and the streaming series “Gannibal” – currently in development with Miércoles Entertainment (U.S.) and The Lift (Mexico); “My Teacher,” developed by South Korean director No Deok in collaboration with screenwriter Ikegami Junya; “Hold,” the feature directorial debut of actor and novelist Fujitani Ayako, a Kyoto-set romantic drama about two women – a Japanese woman and a foreigner – bound by a fateful connection whose lives begin to shift as a result; “UFO Club,” the debut feature of director Kaneko Milena, selected for this year’s Udine Far East Film Festival project market; and “The Book of Human Insects,” a dark musical adaptation of Tezuka Osamu’s manga, part of the Tezuka 100th anniversary project, directed by Ninomiya Ken.
Previously announced K2 Pictures titles include “Look Back” from Kore-eda Hirokazu; “Trophy,” directed by Son Myung-ah, due July 10; “Children Untold” from Nishikawa Miwa, due October 16; and “Between Two Lovers” from Hirose Nanako, due November 27.
K2 Pictures was founded in 2023 by CEO Kii Muneyuki, a former head producer at Toei who has worked across exhibition, distribution, and production.
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