Hashimoto Ai: A-List Film Nerd is Inspired Ambassador for Tokyo Festival

In the world of filmmaking, there are always a dozen or so names of directors who cinephiles will argue about when it comes to answering the question—who is the best ever? However, if you narrow it down to animated features, many will immediately drop the name, Hayao Miyazaki.

GKIDS, the producer and distributor of animation for adult and family audiences, announced that it has acquired the North American distribution rights for Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (Gyoko no Nikuko-chan).

EXCLUSIVE: Utopia has acquired U.S. rights to feature documentary Jerry’s Last Mission.

Guy Lodge Film CriticFilm festivals have been the primary hatching-ground for Oscar contenders ever since the Academy’s tastes shifted predominantly from studio to independent cinema earlier this century — though in the international feature category, this has been the case for far longer.

Folks who are longtime readers of The Playlist will no doubt be familiar with our love of the work of filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda. And sadly, since the release of his 2019 film, “The Truth,” just a year after his Palme d’Or-winning “Shoplifters,” we have yet to see a new feature from the acclaimed director.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe decision to make a second season of Netflix global hit “Squid Game” is a sound one, according to analysis firm Media Partners Asia which finds that Korean and Thai content have the strongest cross-border travel potential within the Asia-Pacific region.The company’s “Netflix in the Asia Pacific: The Scalability of Local Content” report is based on passive measurement of 30,000 streaming consumers in Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines,

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefKore-eda Hirokazu, the celebrated Japanese director of Palme d’Or winning film ‘Shoplifters,’ is developing multiple projects for Netflix.He is currently at work developing a big-budget film that he will direct and a series, where he will be the showrunner and direct some episodes.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefGlobal streaming giant, Netflix is in the process of unveiling a huge expansion of its slate of Japanese film and TV content. These are aimed at cementing and strengthening its position in the critical Japanese market and also showcasing live action and anime programming that is expected to cross borders.After the recent success of Korean series “Squid Game,” many eyes have turned to Asia for further high concept non-English-language shows.

Vera Dreams of the Sea,” Kaltrina Krasniqi’s semi-autobiographical drama about a sign-language interpreter who battles for her rights in an inheritance dispute, was awarded the Tokyo Grand Prix at the closing ceremony of the 34nd Tokyo International Film Festival on Monday.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentNot too long ago, the Japanese film industry was enclosed in a tight domestic bubble, with local filmmakers mostly making local films for local audiences.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefFast-rising Philippines-based director Mikhail Red has gained a dedicated following after delivering a succession of powerful films in just a few years.In addition to establishing Red on the festival circuit – he has been consistently programmed by the Tokyo International Film Festival – his pictures have been acquired by Netflix.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefIchiyama Shozo returned this year to the Tokyo International Film Festival as its head selector, having for the last twenty years headed the rival Tokyo Filmex event.COVID last year forced the two festivals to put aside their rivalry and to cooperate in the key autumn slot.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefOkinawa-born actor Shogen used to be told that he didn’t look Japanese enough for the Japanese film industry.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentYasukawa Yuka is one of two Japanese directors with films in the Asian Future section for up-and-coming Asian filmmakers. Her romantic drama “The Nighthawk’s First Love,” is based on Naoki Prize-winner Shimamoto Rio’s 2013 novel about a college student with a facial birthmark that made her a target of bullying as a child and sapped her confidence as a woman.

Smilegate’s Korean MMO Lost Ark is releasing in the west next year, and players can now sign up for a closed beta.Lost Ark was initially released in 2018 as a Korea-only title, but Smilegate confirmed it would be getting a Western release earlier this year. Amazon Games Studios is handling the localisation.

Rebecca Davis editorSmall but growing production firm Midnight Blur Films has had a strong fall.Its soft sci-fi feature “Journey to the West” just won top accolades at China’s Pingyao Intl.

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a trailer for Bahman Ghobadi’s highly-anticipated The Four Walls, which launched today at the Tokyo International Film Festival as part of its Main Competition.

Minecraft players have been given quite the shock as a list posing as alternative account details for cheaters turns out to actually be a ransomware file.This was reported by Fortinet (thanks, PC Gamer) a few days ago (October 28), as Minecraft players in Japan have been looking for, and downloading, what they think is a list of stolen account usernames and password.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentOne way to help the film industry prepare for the post-COVID future would be to look at lessons from the past, a Monday seminar at TIFFCOM, the market component of the Tokyo International Film Festival, heard.Shiina Yasushi, head of TIFFCOM, said that Japanese film studios faced a similar dilemma with the growth of home video in the 1980s. They managed to counter falling box office revenues by getting into video themselves.