JAPAN SPECIAL OVERVIEW

n2 Screen International May 2014 www.screendaily.com

T
he Japanese industry has started
the year with renewed vigour in
terms of co-productions and
international collaborations.
Nikkatsus thriller Killers, helmed by
the team of Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo
Stromboel, marked the rst Japan-Indo-
nesia co-production and secured a hit
premiere at Sundance with a healthy
number of international sales (Los
Angeles-based XYZ Films backed the
project since its inception, also handled
foreign sales).
Despite Japans notoriously difcult
track record regarding foreign collabo-
rations, as well as the absence of an out-
lined system of subsidies or location
incentives, all parties involved attest to
the success of the production.
We found the collaboration very
rewarding. The Japanese industry de-
nitely has its own culture and works at
its own pace, so you need to be prepared
for that. But communication was excel-
lent and everything ran very smoothly,
Growth business
Japanese films international appeal is on the rise, and 2014 could see
independent productions trump the local blockbusters. By Sten Saluveer
wed do it again in a heartbeat, says
XYZ Films partner Todd Brown.
Currently in production on Takashi
Miikes Yakuza Apocalypse marking
the genre masters return to his roots
Nikkatsus producer Shinjiro Nishimura
has the international market rmly in
sight. For us the major goal is the
North American market but also
Europes biggest territories, France and
Germany, he says.
An equally novel experiment comes
in the form of the bittersweet comedy
Fuku-chan Of FukuFuku Flats, directed
by Yosuke Fujita and starring popular
comedian Miyuki Oshima. The lm had
its recent premiere at Udine Far East
Film Festival in Italy and will hit Cannes
March for international sales. Entirely
Japanese in its content and nature, the
production is among others backed by
the UKs Third Window, Germanys
Rapid Eye, Taiwans Joint Entertain-
ment and, surprisingly, the Udine festi-
vals Tucker Film, demonstrating a new
approach to making and selling Japa-
nese cinema internationally. The inter-
national sales will be handled by Third
Window with input from the other part-
ners.
Producer Adam Torel, whose credits
include Fuku-chan Of FukuFuku Flats,
says: Combining distribution compa-
nies in the UK, Germany, Italy and Tai-
wan gives us four times the amount of
audience, four times the amount of con-
tacts and four times the amount of expe-
rience, and at the same time costs four
times less to distribute, as we share all
costs plus we market and promote
together.
While the overseas market seems ini-
tially difficult for Japanese titles, the
potential lies in the cultivation of festival
and fan audiences as well as trust
between international partners.
Many Japanese producers assume
that since they cant sell their lms over-
seas, there isnt a market. But there is,
and there are buyers who want to try. Yet
people need to be realistic about what
can be done and work together slowly
and with trust, says Torel.
Indeed, trust has been the key point of
discussion between the industry mem-
bers across the region, where political
machinations have an impact on the
lm business, such as the high-prole
scrapping of Kiyoshi Kurosawas China-
bound blockbuster 1905 last year. Slated
to feature Tony Leung, the production
partner Prenom H pulled out due to dif-
culties fuelled partly by ongoing politi-
cal tension in the region.
Centre point
The new year has brought fresh winds
and sellers are seeing Asia once again rise
as a central market for Japanese content.
Nikkatsus Emico Kawai explains: We
have recently had excellent sales to Asia-
Pacic, especially Malaysia, and I feel the
region will be growing to be a big terri-
tory in the near future.
Gaga CEO and chairman Tom Yoda
agrees: According to the contents of the
titles, buyers are differentiating, and as to
the theatrical release of Japanese cinema,
Asia remains the centre point.
So 2014 might well see the return of
vitality for the Japanese indies, with
Naomi Kawases Still The Water on the
Croisette, Confessions director Tetsuya
Nakashimas highly anticipated The
World Of Kanako, as well as Takashi
Miikes latest attracting buyers and festi-
Cannes Competition title Still The Water
Many Japanese
producers
assume that
since they cant
sell their films
overseas, there
isnt a market.
But there is
Adam Torel, producer
www.screendaily.com May 2014 Screen International3 n
val programmers at the March.
Meanwhile, at home, the popular say-
ing Nothing new on the eastern front is
apt. The Japanese market in 2014 has
remained true to its stable dynamics
with the territory and box ofce unsur-
prisingly dominated by domestic majors
both in distribution and production
along with a few international block-
busters thrown in.
Many wonder what the viable solu-
tion would be for the growing divide in
the Japanese industry where local studio
productions are effectively stealing the
show from director- or content-driven
lms. The fact that, as a whole, Japa-
nese lms take two thirds of the market
is incredible, says Takashi Nishimura,
managing director of UNIJAPAN.
However, it is a winner takes it all situ-
ation and it is two separate worlds if one
considers the tough situation of inde-
pendent and arthouse lms.
Hardly surprisingly, the winning dis-
tributors at the box office have been
Toho, Toei and Shochiku, holding a rm
grip over the top 10 domestic releases.
Disneys animated Oscar winner Frozen
had a home-run with Japanese audi-
ences for a solid $105m box office,
almost on par with Hayao Miyazakis
The Wind Rises, which topped at an
astonishing $120m in 2013, becoming
the unchallenged victor of the year.
As uncontested as the Japanese mar-
ket seems, strong opportunities do exist
for smaller, prestige titles and festival
favourites, such as Yoji Yamadas his-
toric melodrama The Little House that
earned a Silver Bear at the Berlinale for
actress Haru Kuroki, and Gagas Cannes
award-winner Like Father, Like Son.
Both performed well in Japan.
Yoda underlines the importance of
festivals and awards for a bankable out-
come on independent films. Gaga,
which tops the ranks in overseas acqui-
sitions, recently positioned the release
of director Steve McQueens 12 Years A
Slave to coincide with the lms Acad-
emy Awards run, despite the films
seemingly tough-sell content for Japans
lm-goers.
While American slavery is denitely
a difcult theme for the local audience,
our strategy of releasing the title after its
nomination has been fruitful, with the
film on its way to make our
$4.9m (5bn) expectation.
We al s o r eopened
McQueens Hunger as a
limited release due to high
demand from the audience
and even with one screen
release the average outcome has
been high, says Yoda.
Gagas success has also been ongoing
with Hirokazu Koreedas Like Father,
Like Son, which has stolen hearts both at
home and across the globe, enjoying a
$31.3m (32bn) domestic box office.
The lm has been drawing wide audi-
ences in North America, Europe, Asia,
and even in Africa. It is marvelous that
in France it became the biggest live
action Japanese title of the year with
400,000 viewers, notes Yoda.
New market opportunities
The annual report of Gaihai, the associa-
tion of foreign lm importers of Japan,
also hammers home the countrys favour
towards domestic fare. Out of the 513
foreign lms released in 2013, 193 were
from the US, followed by Korea (46), UK
(30) and France (28). While US cinema
steals the show, overseas titles increas-
ingly play in limited releases to a special-
ised or older arthouse audience, often
with an internationally known cast as
the major point of attraction. Judy Ahn,
head of international at Korean sales
company Showbox says: We are wit-
nessing a standardised drop in MGs
[minimum guarantees] and the release
size compared to the past.
Despite the presence of Amazon,
iTunes and Hulu alongside domestic
outts such as Tsutaya and VoD service
Aoyama Theater, there has not yet been
a massive increase in the streaming
market. That presents a big opportunity
for the future of specialised content.
TV series are getting really popular in
Japan, especially our crime series. And
as VoD is still very limited, we sell a lot
of genre titles straight to DVD, says
Nicolai Korsgaard of Copenhagen-
based sales company TrustNordisk,
which recently sold Mikkel Norgaards
thriller The Keeper Of Lost Causes to
local distributor Magnet for Japan.
But local players are also eager to
experiment, says Kawai. The condition
of the home-video market has been
tragic, thus we are piloting a collabora-
tion with online portal Nico Nico with
33 million users for a simultaneous
digital and theatrical release for our
upcoming High Kick Angels in May.
Gaga has also added VoD to its strat-
egy, expecting the business to pick up
despite increasing competition. Yoda
says: We seek a similar effect to win-
dow shopping at a department store,
aiming to make it a success within a
few years. This goes along with
Gagas branding strategy, in which
we will have the audience recog-
nise the lms we distribute
as the quality lms. ns
We are
witnessing a
standardised
drop in MGs
and the release
size compared
to the past
Judy Ahn, Showbox
The Little House
High Kick
Angels
Like Father, Like Son Fuku-chan Of FukuFuku Flats