Latest news with #TomokaTerada
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cannes: Japan's Imagica Group Selects Tomoka Terada's ‘Maria' to Launch First Original Film Slate
The feature debut from writer-director Tomoka Terada, Maria, has been named the first winner of the Imagica Group Film Project, a newly established initiative designed to foster original Japanese filmmaking. The project was unveiled Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival, where the Tokyo-based post-production giant is marking its 90th anniversary. Maria centers on an 18-year-old caregiver navigating poverty, pregnancy, and fractured family ties in a declining industrial port town. The film, which draws from Terada's background as a social worker, presents a portrait of young people left behind by Japan's aging society. The project will be produced by Hana Tsuchikawa of OLM, Inc. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'The Plague' Review: Joel Edgerton in a Thrilling Drama That Captures the Terror of Adolescent Masculinity Legendary Entertainment Names Di Mu CEO of China Division Long Layover? Plan a Paris Pitstop The selection was made by a jury including Palme d'Or-winning director Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters), who called Terada's screenplay 'realistic and well-written,' noting the jury's unanimous support for the project. 'It surprised me with its humor and clarity,' he said. 'It didn't feel like a debut.' Imagica Group, a fixture in Japan's post-production industry, is investing ¥70 million ($500,000) into the film's production. The company will bring in additional Japanese corporate entities as co-financiers. The new program will support one film per year for five years, with an eye toward international festivals. Other jurors helping to select the winning titles include Tokyo International Film Festival programming director Shozo Ichiyama and Yuka Sakano of the Kawakita Memorial Film Institute. At the press event in Cannes, Tsuchikawa emphasized the grounded, observational nature of the script. 'What struck me about Maria is how it brings warmth to a story that's not conventionally uplifting,' she said. 'There's honesty in how the characters try to survive.' The Imagica Group Film Project is limited to producers affiliated with one of the company's subsidiaries, though outside directors and writers may partner with eligible producers. This year's competition drew 88 proposals. Maria was selected following a two-round evaluation process, with final jury deliberations concluding in April. Terada, who is also currently employed as a social worker, has previously worked as an assistant director on Kore-eda's Monster and Emma Kawawada's My Small Land. In a recorded message, she reflected on the personal roots of the project. 'These characters are people I've known, not invented,' she said. 'I wanted to write something that comes not from me, but from the world I've observed closely.' While the film is still in development, jury members expressed hope that the Imagica initiative will continue beyond its initial five-year plan — and possibly expand to support filmmakers across Asia. 'It's a strong start,' Ichiyama noted. 'But it's also a much-needed model for how the private sector can step in where institutional support is lacking [in Japan].' 'When I heard about this initiative, I thought: finally,' added Kore-eda. 'There's a gap in how new filmmakers in Japan are discovered and supported. A system like this, if it continues, could help address that.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now "A Nutless Monkey Could Do Your Job": From Abusive to Angst-Ridden, 16 Memorable Studio Exec Portrayals in Film and TV The 10 Best Baseball Movies of All Time, Ranked
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Japan's Imagica Group Selects ‘Maria' As First Project For Financing Scheme Supported By Hirokazu Kore-eda
Tomoka Terada's Maria, a drama about a young woman facing an unwanted pregnancy, is the first project to secure financing through a new initiative launched by Japan's Imagica Group and backed by leading filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda. The film will be produced by Hana Tsuchikawa, who has worked in production on live-action films by Takashi Miike and other directors, as well as working as a line producer on U.S., UK and other foreign co-productions. More from Deadline 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' Director Christopher McQuarrie Reveals Tom Cruise's Scary New Stunt: "No One On Earth Can Do That" 'Riders Republic' Sets Movie Adaptation With 'Bad Boys' Duo Adil & Bilall Directing For Gaumont & Ubisoft - Cannes Market Chioma Ude On Founding The Africa International Film Festival: "It's Inclusive Of Everything The African Diaspora Has To Offer" Imagica Group, one of Japan's leading post-production and VFX companies, has committed to co-financing five director-driven films from emerging Japanese filmmakers over the next five years. The company said it would invest up to $500,000 (JYP70m) in the first selected film. Kore-eda, who won the Cannes Palme d'Or in 2018 for Shoplifters, is on the jury selecting the projects along with Shozo Ichiyama, programming director of the Tokyo International Film Festival, and Yuka Sakano, head of international relations for the Kawakita Memorial Film Institute. Terada, who is also a social worker, moved into filmmaking in 2020 and has worked as an assistant director to Kore-eda and other filmmakers. Her script for Maria follows a young woman in a nondescript, industrial area of Japan who finds herself pregnant with no chance of asking her absent boyfriend or family for support. With nowhere to turn, she approaches a local youth, who is working in a care home and dealing drugs on the side, to see if they can team up to make some money. Imagica Group president and CEO Shunjiro Nagase unveiled the scheme – the company's first foray into production launched to celebrate its 90th anniversary – at an event in the Cannes Marche today. Filmmakers can apply for the funding by partnering with a producer who belongs to an Imagica Group company, which include Robot Communication Inc, P.I.C.S. and OLM. Nagase said: 'The purpose of this project, launched on this milestone, is to provide the next generation of filmmakers with a place to work and to open up new possibilities for Japanese cinema. 'It is our responsibility and investment in the future to create an environment where producers within our group, as well as young directors and filmmakers from Japan and abroad, can freely challenge and express themselves. International film festivals in Europe and elsewhere are highly acclaimed for works depicting social issues and unique artistic expressions, but in Japan, there are still high hurdles to overcome in order to produce such works.' Kore-eda said: 'I sympathize with Imagica Group's efforts to discover the talents of the next generation in the film industry and nurture them to become active on the world stage. I joined this project to see what I can do to help.' Best of Deadline Everything We Know About The 'Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping' Movie So Far TV Show Book Adaptations Arriving In 2025 So Far Book-To-Movie Adaptations Coming Out In 2025
