Hot Japanese Titles Adorn the 2021 TIFFCOM Online Film Market

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.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNetflix aims to increase its appeal to Japanese filmmakers as the streaming giant engineers a pivot towards local production and feature movies, in particular.

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 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.

Netflix has unveiled a hefty list of upcoming Japanese titles, including both anime and live-action films and series. The company is hosting a two-day event this week – the Netflix Japan Festival 2021 – at which it will significantly expand its local slate in the country.

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.

Unless you've been living under a rock these past few months... Chances are, you've heard of Little Moons.The branded mochi company - which put a supermarket-friendly spin on the Japanese dessert - went viral back in 2020 after a series of TikTok videos caused the frozen treats to sell out across the country.

Sega has trademarked the words “Sonic Frontiers” in both English and Japanese, leading to the belief that this could be the name of the upcoming Sonic title.Both the English and Japanese trademarks can be found on Chizai Watch, a website that publishes different patents, designs and trademarks from the Japan Patent Office.

Images of four women police want to speak with after a 'fail to stop' collision outside a restaurant have been released.

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

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentFujitsu Ryota, programmer of the Tokyo International Film Festival’s anime section, has taken ‘onko-chishin,’ a four-kanji-character term meaning “respect the past, create the new,” as the guideline for this year’s selection.The festival has featured Japanese animation focuses for several years, reflecting anime’s position as a key component of the Japanese film industry.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentFestival Ambassador for this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival, Hashimoto Ai is an inspired choice for the role and not only because she is an A-list actor who has starred in hit TV series (“Amachan”) and worked with internationally acclaimed directors like Nakashima Tetsuya (“Confessions”) and Yoshida Daihachi (“The Kirishima Thing”).She is also a certified film nerd, who has proclaimed her love of everything from 1970s “pink” (softcore adult) classics

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentJapanese death game series “Alice in Borderland” had already been a success for Netflix.

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.

Just last week, Japan’s Princess Mako gave up her title to marry her college sweetheart, Kei Komuro, however, she’s not the first royal to do so.

Pokémon characters will be making their return in the upcoming titles Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl.Characters including Professor Rowan, who sends trainers out on their journey to capture Pokémon in the Sinnoh region, and antagonists from the game’s enemy force, Team Galactic, have been shown in brief Japanese adverts for the games.The videos, which are accessible in Japan by scanning a QR code on posters in train stations, have been uploaded by the Spanish language

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNippon TV, one of Japan’s entertainment groups, has struck a deal to license 30 drama and entertainment titles to Netflix for play across Asia, outside Japan.