During the Venice Film Festival, Universal Film & Television Journal’s Amir Ganjavie interviewed Taku Kato who works for Nikkatsu in Japan doing international sales. What follows is that interview.
Amir Ganjavie, UniversalCinema Magazine (UM): Can you tell us a little about Nikkastu and your work there?
Taku Kato (TK): Nikkatsu is the oldest film production in Japan established back in 1912. 10 years ago, I started my career as both an assistant for movie production and international sales. And then I started only doing international sales like eight years ago. It’s my second time in Venice and this time I came here with the Shinya Tsukamoto film Shadow of Fire (in Japanese title, it’s called Hokage).
(UM): And can you tell me more about your company, is it international distribution, or is it more Japanese titles?
(TK): We do both. Pretty much as a domestic distribution company, our number every year is around 10 to 15 films as new releases. And as international sales, we have around 15 to 20 films annually as new releases.
(UM): Do you have a definition for a good movie?
(TK): I don’t think… It’s just an interesting question. Yeah, maybe I never thought about it. What is a good movie? I think a good movie, is the film changes or gives me some new point of new angle or point of life. And actually, it moves my feelings in a bad way sometimes but also in a good way. It demands film with strong energy and I think it’s one of the points of what a good movie is.
(UM): Can you tell me about the arthouse situation in Japan?
(TK): I think because film production budgets are getting cheaper and cheaper every year because there has been an evolution of digital production, there are more possibilities for the young talent, young directors, to make their films, and the number of films is increasing. This is the good side of the art-house film situation in Japan. But on the other hand, the number of art house theaters in Japan is decreasing. So, this is the point of the art house situation in Japan. 15, 20, years ago, there were no people following the Korean film in Japan, but now Korean film is really strong in Japan. So, the number of screens available in the arthouse theater is decreasing.
(UM): And how did COVID impact distribution?
(TK): Well, I think one of the major impacts after COVID is it showed people the value of watching the film in theater. Because after COVID, there’s a huge growth of the VOD platforms. People have more access to film or TV drama and animation from all over the world. It showed us the point of going to the cinema. It showed the people that maybe the theater is more like live entertainment, watching on the huge screen with good sound, talking about the film after, the total experience.
(UM): I read an article a few months ago that said there was some concern in Japan that Japanese cinema is becoming too violent or there is too much sex. Is it something that…
(TK): I don’t know if you know this one or not, but Nikkatsu was once most known for erotic film production. We have a label for erotic films. It’s like soft erotic films. The label is called Roman Porno. And we had this label from 1971-1988. So, for 17 years we produced over 1000 such films. Maybe it was the golden era of Japanese erotic films back then. Right. Considering the past, I wouldn’t say this is the golden era for erotic films and violent films in Japan. I feel like maybe some directors are more capable of creating violent films because of the evolution of CGI.
(UM): And what kind of movies are more interesting for the Japanese audience? You say that South Korea right now is a very big player?
(TK): Yeah, it is a big player, but still Japan is more so considering that the annual box office report we see the top ten films annually out of the top ten films, maybe six to seven films are feature animation based on a Japanese comic book or novel. Feature animation is accessible to our family audience, so it reaches a wider audience. But also considering the art-house film side or more independent side… last year like RRR, the Indian film, was a huge success in Japan. It was record-breaking. But, to wrap up, feature animation has been the strongest in Japan for maybe 10-15 years.
(UM): Interesting. There was discussion about Japan would submit for the Academy Awards and then—
(TK): They submitted Perfect Days (a film from German filmmaker Wim Wenders).
(UM): Yeah, when the Miyazaki film (The Boy and The Heron) was in contention.
(TK): That news came out just before I came here. Miyazaki goes for the Oscar for feature animation, but it could’ve also gone for foreign film.
(UM): How can filmmakers best go about getting their work seen by Nikkatsu?
(TK): There is our company address on our English website. They can just send the project there. But frankly speaking, we receive a lot of projects from all over the world. The best way is to just meet like this, during the market or film festival, because we are more in the mood to meet people and listen to new projects. We don’t buy films so often for distribution, we are more into international sales, but sometimes we’ll do the international sale for a foreign film.
(UM): So, my question is about international sales for a foreign film, they can approach you by email, for example? At what stage of production are you looking for films?
(TK): Well, we are not a big team so it’s much easier for our consideration being shown the screener and watching that to evaluate it. Sometimes we work with them, and sometimes we don’t, especially considering the producers if they look for gap financing or financing in general. This one, it’s tough for us to join because there are a lot of co-producers, and not a lot of producers who can work with foreign people, like those who can speak English. So, it’s a bit tough for us at the moment. It’s a shame.
(UM): How has democratization and digitalization changed the marketplace in your experience?
(TK): In several ways. I think one is, maybe more films in the market, including classic films. I also do the restoration as a producer. I mean, I’m not a tech guy but the budget creating new 4K Master restorations is much cheaper than just five years ago. So that makes it possible to restore more and more films than before so we can give new life to the film. It’s much easier now. Also, for new films, in international sales, it’s always a good thing to meet new talent, new directors, young directors, and old directors. And then it’s also good to see a lot of films that might have potential for international audiences, and international markets, and if we can help, we are more than happy to help, and team up with them.
(UM): And in terms of race or gender, do you have any kinds of quotas?
(TK): No. Not in Japan yet.
(UM): What is Japan’s relationship with controversial filmmakers like? For example, Roman Polanski and Woody Allen?
(TK): There was a huge movement, #MeToo, right? So, Japan is not like Hollywood but actually, there was also obviously the effect of #MeToo. Everyone can post on Twitter/X. Sometimes there’s news or gossip about a popular director saying there was some sort of sexual harassment or harassment in general. And to me, it seems like, generally speaking, gradually it’s getting harder and harder for such people to start a new project or to keep working in the industry.
(UM): Do you feel a festival like Venice, is very important in the life of a film?
(TK): I agree, it’s very important.
(UM): And for Japanese movies, do people in Japan care if a movie goes to Cannes, for example, or are they more looking for films going to the Tokyo Film Festival?
(TK): I think it depends. It super depends on the international sales. Each film festival is of course important. But usually, the producers, domestic marketing people, or the cinephile audience in Japan, just like other countries, pay attention to big festivals like Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Berlin, or Sundance. So, in the end, we wish to have the films shown in such festivals.
(UM): And in terms of stars, how important is it for your films to have a star?
(TK): I think it is important, especially in Japan. I would say, 90% of commercial films are based on original comics/novels. So, there are not so many films with original screenplays, like the film Shadow of a Firewhich I’m doing, the international sale this time it’s the original screenplay. And, this is not only about Shadow of a Fire, but considering how promotion goes in Japan, it’s always good to have a cast everyone recognizes in Japan. Do you get my point?
(UM): And do you see any kind of market in terms of income for this movie at the end or do you mostly help the filmmakers to get recognized in the festival circuit?
(TK): Well, Shadow of Fire’s director Shinya Tsukamoto is recognized. He’s been in Venice like eight or nine times. And he’s also been on their jury twice. He’s already recognized. So, it’s more like having the opportunity to show the World Premiere to a foreign audience, see their reaction, and communicate with them in and outside the theater. And having this film cast and crew know the reaction of the foreign audience, how they react to the film. And on the sales side, bringing our clients to the screening is important because the atmosphere after the screening makes foreign distributors more confident about the film. Seeing a good reaction from the audience.
(UM): And in terms of your relationship to festivals, how important is your relationship to the Tokyo Film Festival, for example?
(TK): This is the biggest film festival in Japan, and the festival director was changed three years ago and they’re reconstructing now. So, I hope it’s going to be something really exciting.
(UM): Is there anything else you’d like to tell people about your company?
(TK): Can I ask you what impression you have towards the Japanese cinema industry or Japanese distribution company? What is your impression?
(UM): My impression?
(TK): Like Akira Kurosawa, animation film…
(UM): Animation films and movies with some Buddhist elements and environmental elements. I always think of like, for example, Eastern Philosophy. And some kind of horror movies, especially thriller movies.
(TK): What is unique about our film, our company, is that we do production, we do international sales, we do the distribution, and we also have a film studio in Tokyo. We can do the film business from creation until the last scene, which is like promotion or distribution. Not all film companies do this. So, this is unique to our company. Also, what we sell, what we produce, and what we distribute is really wide. As I said, we do drama, we do arthouse films, we do genre films, and we do animation. And we have tons of classic films. And we have a connection with maestros from the past like Seijun Suzuki, Shohei Imamura Chikawa, etc. There’s only a limited number of companies who do this scope of the film business, I think it’s a real point of interest for my company.
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