Five Japanese features are heading to the Cannes Film Festival next month through the Tokyo International Film Festival‘s Goes to Cannes showcase, with Kore-eda Hirokazu‘s “Look Back” – a drama about two young women bound together by their devotion to manga across 13 years – the marquee title in a lineup spread across suspense, animation, mystery and family drama.
All five titles are Japanese-language productions due for 2026 completion. Kadokawa Corporation and Toei Company each contribute one title, while Shin-Ei Animation brings the selection’s sole animated feature.
Organized by the Cannes Festival’s Marché du Film, the Goes to Cannes series of seven showcases of works in progress from festivals and markets all over the world is offering two new awards in 2026: the OCS+ Award, with €15,000 ($17,725) for the French distributor of a Goes to Cannes project, and the AH Media Production Award of €10,000 ($11,800) in cash. These prizes join the well-known Sideral Cinema Award of a €10,000 minimum guarantee for one of the projects.
A closer look at the Tokyo International Film Festival Goes to Cannes lineup:
“The Gate of Murder” (Kanai Ko, Tsubaki Yoshikazu, Kadokawa Corporation and storyboard, Japan)
Directed by Kanai Ko and produced by Tsubaki Yoshikazu through Kadokawa Corporation, this suspense feature follows a man nursing a simmering desire to kill a childhood acquaintance he holds responsible for a lifetime of accumulated misfortune – and the question of whether that desire will eventually be acted upon.
“All That Exists” (working title) (Zeze Takahisa, Takahashi Naoya, Toei Company, Ltd., Japan)
Directed by Zeze Takahisa and produced by Takahashi Naoya through Toei Company, this mystery-drama centers on a journalist who revisits a decades-old double child abduction after the death of a former colleague in law enforcement. Three decades on from the original case, his renewed inquiry draws him toward a mysterious realist painter whose connection to the events gradually comes into focus.
“You, Fireworks, and Our Promise” (working title) (Suzuki Kei, Umezawa Michihiko, Shin-Ei Animation and SynergySP, Japan)
Directed by Suzuki Kei and produced by Umezawa Michihiko through Shin-Ei Animation and SynergySP, this adventure-drama follows a high-school student who encounters a girl carrying a drawing that bears his name and a future date. When she disappears and her identical great-grandmother arrives from the past, he must piece together what connects them before the fireworks fade.
“Lives at Right Angles” (Kobayashi Syoutarou, Sato Gen, Toei Video Company and Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures, Japan)
Directed by Kobayashi Syoutarou and produced by Sato Gen through Toei Video Company, with Hakuhodo DY Music & Pictures attached as sales agent, this family drama follows Daiki, a man with autism spectrum disorder who holds a janitorial job and manages his own life with limited outside help. His younger sister Nozomi, a counselor, has sustained him since their mother’s early death. When she announces marriage plans, both siblings find themselves forced to confront their own futures independently.
“Look Back” (Kore-eda Hirokazu, Koide Daiju, K2 Pictures Production Inc., Japan)
Directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu and produced by Koide Daiju through K2 Pictures Production Inc., “Look Back” follows Fujino and Kyomoto – two elementary-school classmates in a snowbound rural town – whose shared obsession with drawing manga draws them into a friendship that unfolds across 13 years.
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