Opening Gala
Aesop’s Game◊World Premiere◊
7/13 (Sat) 14:00
<2019 / Japan / 87min.>
Three years in the making! Filmmakers of One Cut of the Dead reunite!
Three directors collaborate in an unpredictable con game!
Miwa Kameda is a college student whose only friend is her turtle. Saori Togusa is a daughter in a popular celebrity family. Koyuzu Inui makes a living working as an agent with her father. When the three girls cross paths, the greatest miracle happens. This is a bittersweet coming of age film…not! Abduction, betrayal, revenge, and false pretenses that are about to be exposed!
©Saitama Prefecture/SKIP CITY Sai-no-Kuni Visual Plaza
Director: Naoya ASANUMA, Sinichiro UEDA, Yuya NAKAIZUMI
Cast: Ruka ISHIKAWA, Hiroe IGETA, Guammer, Yoichiro SAITO, Takehiko FUJITA, Yusuke TAKAHASHI, Koji KIRYU, Yohta KAWASE, Makiko WATANABE, Hinako SAEKI
Production: Saitama Prefecture / SKIP CITY Sai-no-Kuni Visual Plaza
Planning & Production: DIGITAL SKIP STATION
Distributor: Asmik Ace, Inc.
Director: Naoya ASANUMA
Born 1985 in Nagano, Asanuma directed his first feature film, Heart Beat (2012), which was nominated at the 2012 edition of the festival. He was selected for New Directions in Japanese Cinema organized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and directed Iron Horse in the Wind (2014). He made his commercial debut with Lived, Loved, Stole, an episode of 4 Stories with a Cat (2015), an omnibus feature film. His short if winter burned (2016) won Best Short in the Short Length Competition at the 2017 edition of the festival. He served as a still photographer for One Cut of the Dead (2017). His latest short, Shichinenme no kaseki (2018), screened at SHORT FILMS FROM JAPAN 2018 at the 71st Cannes Film Festival.
Director: Shinichiro UEDA
Born 1984 in Shiga, Ueda established the filmmaker production collaborative PANPOKOPINA in 2010, and directed eight short films which received 46 awards at 20 film festivals all over the world. He made his commercial debut with Cat Manma, an episode of 4 Stories with a Cat (2015), an omnibus feature film. His feature debut, One Cut of the Dead (2017) became a box office smash hit making more than 3 billion JPY, becoming the most sensational film of that year. Ueda’s motto is to “create exciting films to be seen 100 years later” and he continues to make films with high entertainment value.
Director: Yuya NAKAIZUMI
Born 1979 in Ibaraki, Nakaizumi began working in film production after a stint as an actor and made his commercial debut with Hotel Nanohana, an episode of 4 Stories with a Cat (2015), an omnibus feature film. He made his feature debut with Running Again (2018), the Opening Gala film in 2018. He served as an assistant director on One Cut of the Dead (2017) and directed “One Cut of the Dead Spin-Off: In Hollywood” (2019). He currently directs “Gaia no yoake” for TV Tokyo.
