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.
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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.'
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