Recently-released titles by – very different – Japanese film icons Yamada Yoji and Shimizu Takashi adorn the TIFFCOM sales slate of Shochiku, one of Japan’s oldest and most powerful film studios.
The 91-year-old Yamada, known for classics including “The Yellow Handkerchief” and “The Twilight Samurai,” is behind “Mom, Is That You?,” a heartwarming drama that marks the third picture in his recent “Mother” series, following “Kabei, Our Mother” and “Nagasaki: Memories of My Son.” Starring Yoshinaga Sayuri and Oizumi Yo, the film tells how a dissatisfied salaryman pays a rare visit home and discovers his mother’s previously hidden fashionable and outgoing sides. It released in Japanese theaters on Sept. 1.
Shimizu, who played a large part in bringing Japanese horror to Hollywood’s attention with titles such as “Tomie: Rebirth” and “Ju-on: The Grudge,” has returned to his horror roots with “Sana.” It depicts a musical curse that is delivered in old-fashioned style on a cassette tape, by the titular Sana. Starring Shirahama Alan, Katayose Ryota and Hayami Akari, the film had its theatrical premiere in Japan on Aug. 11.
In the upcoming category for the studio, are “Till We Meet Again on the Lily Hill” and “Give it All.” Directed by Narita Yoichi, the former is a time-slip romantic drama about a present day schoolgirl, portrayed by Fukuhara Haruka (“My Girlfriend Is a Serial Killer”) and a soldier from 1945 (Mizukami Koshi). It is set for release in Japanese theaters on Dec. 8.
The latter, an animation title by Sakuragi Yuhei, is in production and will arrive on screens only in October next year. The picture is an adaptation of the popular novel “Give It All,” which has previously been adapted as both a live action film and a TV series. It tells of how a frustrated schoolgirl establishes a boat club, discovers her adventurous side and set out to sea with her school friends.
The studio which counts an Oscar nomination for Yamada’s “Twilight Samurai” and an Oscar win for “Departures,” is also using the Tokyo International Film Festival’s TIFFCOM market to pitch a slate of other recently-completed titles.
These include: suspense drama “Confess to Your Crimes,” which released over the latest weekend, and stars Nakajima Kento; romance-drama “Our Secret Diary,” by renown TV director Takemura Kentaro (“Invisible,” “Unnatural”) which released theatrically in July; teen romance “And Yet, You Are so Sweet,” directed by Shinjyou Takehiko; and samurai comedy “We’re Broke, My Lord,” directed by Maeda Tetsu and which released in June.
