Inaugurating K2 Pictures Inc. Cannes Film Festival Press Conference with Participating Creators

K2 PICTURES AND THE FILMMAKERS GATHERED TOGETHER AND ADDRESS OUT THE FUTURE IN THE JAPANESE FILM INDUSTRY. PRODUCER MUNEYUKI KII LAUNCHED NEW JAPANESE FILM ECOSYSTEM – K2 PICTURES WITH A FUND FOR JAPANESE ANIMATED AND LIVE-ACTION FEATURES 
 

K2P to partner on films from Takashi Miike, Miwa Nishikawa and more

K2 Pictures, a motion picture-centered business established in Tokyo, Japan last August 1 with Muneyuki Kii as president, inaugurates full-fledged business operations with a press conference in France at the Cannes Film Festival, one of the world’s top three such events, where K2 will join with creator partners.

■ Saturday, May 18: press conference in Cannes, France.

Participating creators joined us on stage. At the 77 th Cannes Film Festival beginning Tuesday, May 14 (local time) in Cannes, France, K2 Pictures will hold a press conference on Saturday, May 18 featuring creators partnering with the new company. Preparations have been under way since K2 announced its establishment in August of last year, and with the organization now in place, we anounced both the structure of film production at which we aim, and creators who will be working with us. The full-fledged launch of K2 Pictures took place before filmmakers from around the globe at the world-renowned Cannes Film Festival.

K2 Pictures will continue to press forward in both Japan and in international markets.
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Miwa Nishikawa

I thought it was worth taking on the challenge of what K2 Pictures is trying to do: to provide sufficient funding and the environment necessary for people who are new and/or who push boundaries rather than simply playing it safe. This may in fact not prove amenable to conventional methods. But that is where movies begin, and if I am going to make them, I want to be part of an adventurous team. And if this can open up paths for people in Japan who want to make films, so much the better.

Takashi Miike

“K2 Pictures”. And a dubious character by the name of “Kii”. “Kii” means “sincere destroyer”.
That’s how I see it. He’s very powerful. And I think the source of that power lies in kindness.
“Let’s make movies that are more interesting, and be happier.”
I feel that simple message.

Yuriyan Retriever

This all started a few years ago, when the producer Daisuke Takashi got in touch after he’d seen me say “I want to become a movie director” on a morning TV interview show he was watching on the theme of “ambitions”. Not just as a comedian, but also as a film director I would like more people to appreciate my work.

K2P announced to collaborate with leading Japanese directors and creators on a slate of upcoming projects that include Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters) who is part of the official Cannes competition Jury; Shunji Iwai, who directed Love Letter, which was a massive hit in South Korea and China, as well as in Japan; Miwa Nishikawa, who wrote and directed the original screenplay Sway, which was officially selected for the Directors’ Fortnight; Takashi Miike (13 Assassins), a leading director who has been invited to various film festivals worldwide; Kazuya Shiraishi (The Devil’s Path), a director whose work is always some of the Japanese industry’s most highly anticipated, who turns out works in a wide range of genres including yakuza films, historical dramas, suspense, and special effects; and MAPPA, one of Japan’s top animation studios whose titles include Jujutsu Kaisen 0, and series such as “Chainsaw Man” and “Attack on Titan.”

The K2P Film Fund I is designed with a unique structure to mitigate the risks associated with content investment, by facilitating the secure attraction of capital to the traditionally exclusive Japanese content market. For the fund, K2 Pictures has worked with one of the leading law firms in Japan and an accounting firm that specializes in the entertainment field to develop a fund contract for investment to facilitate the participation and profit of domestic and foreign companies that have an interest in Japanese content. Furthermore, by launching this fund, K2 Pictures also plans to focus on success fees for creators and staff, with the goal of making the Japanese film industry more active and profitable in the global marketplace.