Cannes Docs

Runtime: 50', 90'

Expected release: September, 2023

Production stage: In production

Budget: $262,000 USD (35% secured)

1st feature: No

Looking for: Sales agents, international distributors, Co-producers, strategic guidance, investors, funders

Synopsis:

Sano Toemon, 93 years of age, is a worldwide celebrated cherry blossom expert. Sano – who listens to the “voices” of his beloved cherry trees – has lived through as many experiences as the thousands of trees he cared for but never talked about these. However, he realizes that soon – like the weathered leaning cherry tree he might not be able to save – his juices of life will stop flowing, and his memories will wither away like fallen blossoms. So his grand-granddaughter visits him and, in an intimate conversation, gently rakes together the life lessons he now wants to share with the audience.

Director’s profile:

Inoue Haruo’s film The Reality Behind What We See was selected for competition at 19 international film festivals and won 10 awards including the Best Director Award and Grand Prix. He recently finished a documentary film, Vertigo, in memory of the late poet Jonas Mekas, who was considered the father of American avant-garde art cinema.

Producers’s profile:

Nakamura Mitsuhiro spent his school days in Kyoto and worked as a math teacher at a cram school before entering the TV production business. He has also worked for many years on programs introducing the history, culture, and tourist information of Kyoto and Nara, and has made it his life’s work to make use of his knowledge and connections. Co-Producer, Sugano Makoto has been working as a TV program director on art and science documentaries since 2005. In 2017, he also internationally co-produced a documentary of the first female surfer in Bangladesh. He also plays a role as a committee member of Tokyo Docs, the Japanese largest industry event for docs.

Runtime: 105'

Expected release: November, 2022

Production stage: Post Production

Budget: €135,000 (90% in place)

1st feature: No

Looking for: Festivals, Sales agents, Distributors, Buyers

Synopsis:

Daisuke Muramoto (39) has been in the entertainment industry for 20 years. In 2013, he became the champion in one of the most prestigious comedy contests in Japan, rising to the top from a field of 1855 contestants. At the time he was flooded with offers, appearing on TV almost every day. However, because he repeatedly criticized politicians, Japanese entertainment industry – in 7 years, Daisuke’s appearance on TVhas plummeted to zero.

Director’s profile:

Fumiari Hyuga joined the production company ‘Documentary Japan’ in 2006. He has directed various TV programs and short documentaries for NHK and the other channels. His short film Tokyo Kurds (17) has been selected for numerous Films Festivals including HOT DOCS Films Festival, DMZ Documentary Festival, and also won the Excellence Award in TokyoDocs Short Documentary showcase. Fumiari continued to follow the subject, feature length film Tokyo Kurds (21) screened International premier at JEONJU International film festival as International Competition, Taiwan International Documentary Festival as Asian Competition and so on.His latest film I am a comedian (22) chosen at DMZ Documentary Festival`s industry rough-cut presentation.

Producers’s profile:

Gary Byung-Seok Kam 2020 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentary In the Absence (18), Shadow Flowers (19), Best Documentary award- National Competition at the DMZ Docs, IDFA , DOC Point Helsinki , and so on. Emi Ueyama, producer based in TOKYO Japan, The legacy of Frida Khalo (15) have won awards and screened at numerous festivals including JEONJU IFFl, HOT DOCS and so on.Tokyo Kurds (21) screened as International premier at JEONJU IFF as International Competition, Taiwan International Documentary Festival as Asian Competition and so on. Her latest film I am a comedian (22) chosen at DMZ Docs`s industry rough-cut presentation.

Runtime: 85'

Expected release: September, 2023

Production stage: In production

Budget: $180,000 USD (45% secured)

1st feature: Yes

Looking for: Sales agents, international distributors, Co-producers, strategic guidance, investors, funders

Synopsis:

Death Row inmate Masumi Hayashi seems monstrous; accused of poisoning the curry at a summer festival, killing 4 and injuring dozens of others, as well as an insurance fraud scheme involving the same poison used in the killings. But one of her victims, her husband Kenji, is proving her innocence, and struggles against an impenetrable bureaucracy to clear her name and save her life. In spite of compelling evidence of a miscarriage of justice, his odds seem impossibly long.

Director’s profile:

Masahiro Nimura Director, Producer, has directed and produced various TV programs for 20years, titles, such as, School refusal has arrived (2021) for NHK, Short documentary about a unique method to bring out a dramatic recovery from schizophrenia. How To Train Your Schizophrenia and so on. In recent years, he has followed the subject of Japanese criminal justice, the death penalty, and false accusations.

Runtime: 90'

Expected release: September, 2023

Production stage: In production

Budget: $150,000 USD (35% secured)

1st feature: No

Looking for: Sales agents, international distributors, Co-producers, strategic guidance, investors, funders

Synopsis:

In Korea, subway delivery jobs have become a lifeline for the elderly, almost half of whom are living below the poverty line and desperate for a chance at making a living. This documentary portrays the office of one such company, which rescues impoverished pensioners. The company’s owner whose own life is overshadowed by tragedy, has immeasurable pain and atonement fo beloved daughter’s suicide. The film documents the joys and sorrows of these “Subway Delivery” workers and their network of supporters.

Director’s profile:

Studied documentary filmmaking at the Japan Institute of the Moving Image. She has worked on a variety of documentaries, Message from the Phoenix-Osamu Tezuka (NHK), Andean Holy Mountain Festival-Living at an altitude of 5000m (NHK), and many other documentary programs. The feature documentary film Between Today and Tomorrow, about Japan’s leading ballet dancer Yasuyuki Shuto, was screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

Producer’s profile:

Tomoko Ishikawa has worked on TV documentaries for more than 20 years, She has directed and produced various programs for NHK and the other TV companies, such as about the patriotism of youth in the Ukraine Civil war, Should young people shoot guns? (15) The story about Syrian refugees living in Japan, Syrians next door (16) Documentary about star comedian Muramoto Daisuke (21) received the Satellite Broadcasting Association Award,”2021 National Association of Commercial Broadcasters Award”and so on. The feature documentary film Between Today and Tomorrow, was screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival.