Five Japanese features will be shown at next month’s Cannes Film Festival through the Tokyo International Film Festival’s Goes to Cannes Showcase, and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Look Back, a drama about two young women brought together by 13 years of dedication to comics, is the featured title in a lineup spanning suspense, animation, mystery and family drama.
All five titles are in Japanese and are scheduled for completion in 2026. Kadokawa Shoten and Toei Co., Ltd. will each provide one title, while Shinei Animation will provide the only animated work in the selection.
The Goes to Cannes series, a seven-part showcase of works in progress from festivals and markets around the world, organized by the Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film, will offer two new awards in 2026. The OCS+ award is 15,000 euros ($17,725) to the French distributor of the Goes to Cannes project, and the AH Media Production award is 10,000 euros ($11,800) in cash. These awards join the prestigious Sideral Cinema Award, which offers a minimum guarantee of €10,000 for one of the projects.
See more of the Tokyo International Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival lineup:
“The Gate of Murder” (Isao Kanai, Yoshikazu Tsubaki, Kadokawa Shoten Co., Ltd., storyboard, Japan)
Directed by Isao Kanai and produced by Yoshikazu Tsubaki through KADOKAWA Co., Ltd., this suspenseful feature depicts a man with a smoldering desire to kill his childhood friend who is responsible for a lifetime of misfortune, and the question of whether that desire will ultimately be carried out.
“Everything that exists” (tentative title) (Takahisa Zeze, Naoya Takahashi, Toei)
Directed by Takahisa Zeze and produced by Naoya Takahashi through Toei Company, this mystery drama centers on a journalist who re-investigates the decades-old kidnapping of two children after the death of a former colleague in law enforcement. Thirty years after the original incident, a new quest draws him closer to a mysterious realist painter whose connection to the incident gradually becomes clear.
“You, Fireworks, and Our Promise” (tentative title) (Kei Suzuki, Michihiko Umezawa, Shinei Animation, SynergySP, Japan)
Directed by Kei Suzuki and produced by Michihiko Umezawa through Shinei Animation and SynergySP, this adventure drama is about a high school student who meets a girl holding a picture with her name and a future date on it. When she disappears and the same great-grandmother comes from the past, he must piece together what connects them before the fireworks go off.
“Lives at Right Angles” (Shotaro Kobayashi, Hajime Sato, Toei Video, Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures, Japan)
Directed by Shotaro Kobayashi, produced by Hajime Sato through Toei Video Company, and distributed by Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures, this family drama tells the story of Daiki, who has an autism spectrum disorder, takes a job as a janitor, and manages his life with limited outside help. Since his mother passed away at an early age, his younger sister Nozomi, who is a counselor, has supported him. When she announces her plans to get married, both brothers realize that they must face their future independently.
“Look Back” (Hirokazu Kore-eda, Daiki Koide, K2 Pictures Production Inc., Japan)
Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda and produced by Daiki Koide through K2 Pictures Production Inc., “Look Back” depicts Fujino and Kyomoto, elementary school classmates living in a snowbound rural town, who develop a 13-year friendship over their shared obsession with drawing manga.
