2 weeks ago
Japanese accumulation and finance location K2 Pictures has announced nan closing of its first movie fund, done which it has raised $33M (JPY5BN), arsenic good arsenic caller additions to its slate including Takashi Miike’s first documentary.
At a property arena successful Cannes today, nan institution besides said it has raised $67M successful indebtedness financing for a full backing magnitude of $100M.
Founded by erstwhile Toei executive Muneyuki Kii, nan institution is pioneering an eager caller financing exemplary for nan Japanese movie manufacture – a movie money backed by organization investors – providing an replacement to nan accumulation committee system, which has worked good for galore projects, but restricts world collaboration arsenic non-Japanese entities can’t participate.
The first fund, K2P Film Fund I, closed successful February 2026 pinch awesome investors including financial institutions specified arsenic Mitsubishi UFJ Bank and nan Development Bank of Japan.
The institution besides announced that 3 films financed done nan money person already been completed, 1 of which was released successful theaters successful February 2026; 3 are presently successful post-production, and 5 films are scheduled for merchandise betwixt June and December 2026. It was besides reported that 5 films are scheduled to statesman accumulation this year.
Miike’s documentary – Shumei – The Living Legacy of Kabuki – astir Kabuki character Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII, is group for merchandise successful September 2026. The movie captures nan historical sanction succession ceremonial for nan character and records nan behind-the-scenes preparations for his name-inheritance debut performance. K2 Pictures unveiled a trailer for nan movie astatine nan property arena successful Cannes.
Miike said: “I person attempted to seizure nan soul conflict and loneliness of a man who continues to guidelines connected stage, unflinchingly honing his Kabuki skills pinch rigorousness toward some himself and those astir him, while simultaneously base nan dense work of nurturing nan adjacent Danjuro.”
Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII said: “I americium genuinely grateful and honored that nan sanction Danjuro, passed down done generations complete a agelong history, will beryllium preserved for posterity successful this film. I americium already filled pinch awesome anticipation to spot really head Miike will bring this communicative to life connected screen.
“I besides consciousness that location is profound value successful this movie being released internationally. Just arsenic nan movie Kokuho is presently attracting worldwide attention, I americium delighted – arsenic a Kabuki character – that Kabuki, a accepted Japanese creation form, is becoming wide known to audiences overseas and is being embraced arsenic a shape of entertainment.”
Other projects announced astatine nan Cannes property arena include:
The Nuke Crab (working title), directed by Koto Nagata and executive produced and written by Shunji Iwai. Set successful Fukushima aft nan Great East Japan Earthquake, nan societal noir depicts nan divisions faced by section residents, including radiation contamination from nan atomic accident, compensation issues, nan acheronian broadside of nan decontamination business, and nan struggles of nan bereaved families of disaster victims. Iwai co-wrote nan screenplay pinch writer Riichi Akamatsu. Nagata is known for Baka’s Identity, which won Best Actor astatine past year’s Busan International Film Festival.
Theatrical animation Gigant, based connected nan celebrated manga of nan aforesaid sanction by Hiroya Oku, nan original creator of Gantz. The sci-fi actioner features a sexy heroine, a porn character who becomes gigantic owed to a definite incident, arsenic she fights against group from nan early to protect her beloved boyfriend. The task marks K2 Pictures’ first animated characteristic project.
Takuya Kato’s NAP (working title), featuring a protagonist who suffers from societal eating phobia and cannot eat successful public, which is being group up arsenic an world co-production betwixt Japan, France and Iceland.
Shinzo Katayama’s Mexican Horror (working title), a co-production pinch Miércoles Entertainment successful nan U.S. and The Lift successful Mexico.
Keishi Otomo’s Conde Koma (working title), group connected nan eve of World War I and telling nan communicative of Mitsuyo Maeda, nan man who sparked nan activity starring to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and modern combat sports for illustration nan UFC’s MMA. The movie is being group up arsenic a co-production betwixt Japan, Brazil and nan U.S.
My Teacher, presently successful development, to beryllium directed by No Deok and scripted by Junya Ikegami (The Blood Of Wolves). No Deok antecedently directed Japan-Korea co-production Very Ordinary Couple, which won nan Best Asian Newcomer Award astatine nan 2013 Shanghai International Film Festival.
Hold (working title), nan characteristic directorial debut of Ayako Fujitani, who has starred successful films specified arsenic Hideaki Anno’s Shiki-Jitsu and Michel Gondry’s Tokyo!, while besides moving arsenic a novelist and screenwriter, co-writing scripts pinch board Park Chan-wook and Dave Boyle.
UFO Club, a coming-of-age sci-fi that marks nan feature-length debut of head Milena Kaneko and was selected for nan projects marketplace of this year’s Udine Far East Film Festival.
Osamu Tezuka 100th Anniversary Project The Book of Human Insects, directed by Ken Ninomiya, celebrating 1 of astir avant-garde useful of God of Manga Osamu Tezuka. The film, which was sounded astatine this year’s Spotlight connected Japan astatine Berlin’s EFM, adapts Osamu Tezuka’s book into a acheronian musical.
K2 Pictures was first launched astatine Cannes successful 2024 and has already produced respective antecedently announced films including Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Look Back, Nanako Hirose’s Between Two Lovers, Yuriyan Retriever’s Mag Mag and Miwa Nishikawa’s Children Untold, which was precocious picked up for world income by Italy’s Intramovies.
