After years of making films in his native Japan, writer-director Ryusuke Hamaguchi found unexpected global success in 2021 with “Drive My Car.”
Adapted and expanded from short stories by Haruki Murakami, it’s an exquisite drama about a grieving theater director staging a multilingual “Uncle Vanya,” and his relationship with the pensive young woman employed to drive his cherry-red Saab.
Premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, where Hamaguchi and co-writer Takamasa Oe won the Best Screenplay prize, “Drive My Car” went on to dominate the fall festival circuit. The film clocked up an astonishing four nominations at the 2022 Oscars, including Best Picture and a Best Director nod for Hamaguchi, and went on to win Japan’s first Oscar for Best International Film.
Hamaguchi’s latest film, “Evil Does Not Exist” is to some extent a response to that overwhelming acclaim. “I knew that I wanted my next work to be very...
Adapted and expanded from short stories by Haruki Murakami, it’s an exquisite drama about a grieving theater director staging a multilingual “Uncle Vanya,” and his relationship with the pensive young woman employed to drive his cherry-red Saab.
Premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, where Hamaguchi and co-writer Takamasa Oe won the Best Screenplay prize, “Drive My Car” went on to dominate the fall festival circuit. The film clocked up an astonishing four nominations at the 2022 Oscars, including Best Picture and a Best Director nod for Hamaguchi, and went on to win Japan’s first Oscar for Best International Film.
Hamaguchi’s latest film, “Evil Does Not Exist” is to some extent a response to that overwhelming acclaim. “I knew that I wanted my next work to be very...
- 4/30/2024
- by John Forde
- Indiewire
Two Japanese films take top honours, while Korean films ’Past Lives’ and ’Riceboy Sleeps’ are also awarded.
Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days took the best film prize at the 16th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) today (November 3), while Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist won the jury grand prize.
The two Japanese films were honoured in a ceremony held for 250 people from 20 countries at the Home of the Arts on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
Perfect Days, which debuted in competition at Cannes this year, is Japan’s submission to the 2024 Academy Awards. The film, about finding beauty in the everyday world around us,...
Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days took the best film prize at the 16th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) today (November 3), while Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist won the jury grand prize.
The two Japanese films were honoured in a ceremony held for 250 people from 20 countries at the Home of the Arts on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
Perfect Days, which debuted in competition at Cannes this year, is Japan’s submission to the 2024 Academy Awards. The film, about finding beauty in the everyday world around us,...
- 11/3/2023
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
Japan has dominated this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa), with German filmmaker Wim Wenders’ latest Tokyo-set pic and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car follow-up taking the top prizes.
Wenders’ Cannes competition title Perfect Days won Apsa’s Best Film award, while Hamaguchi’s enigmatic Venice title Evil Does Not Exist nabbed the Jury Grand Prize this evening at the Australian ceremony.
“It is with great pleasure and pride that my Japanese producers Takuma Takasaki and Koji Yanai and myself received the news that our film Perfect Days was awarded Best Picture at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards,” Wenders said, accepting the award via video message.
He added: “Wow, what an honor. Especially for a German director. The film was, in many ways, a dream come true for all of us, especially the fact that nobody less than the great Koji Yakusho played the leading role, the humble public servant,...
Wenders’ Cannes competition title Perfect Days won Apsa’s Best Film award, while Hamaguchi’s enigmatic Venice title Evil Does Not Exist nabbed the Jury Grand Prize this evening at the Australian ceremony.
“It is with great pleasure and pride that my Japanese producers Takuma Takasaki and Koji Yanai and myself received the news that our film Perfect Days was awarded Best Picture at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards,” Wenders said, accepting the award via video message.
He added: “Wow, what an honor. Especially for a German director. The film was, in many ways, a dream come true for all of us, especially the fact that nobody less than the great Koji Yakusho played the leading role, the humble public servant,...
- 11/3/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s latest feature, Evil Does Not Exist, leads this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) with four nods, including the gong for Best Film.
Hamaguchi’s nominations haul includes Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography for Yoshio Kitagawa. The film is Hamaguchi’s first film since his Oscar-winning Drive My Car and debuted at this year’s Venice Film Festival. The pic follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. A plan to construct a glamping site near Takumi’s house, offering city residents a comfortable “escape” to nature, threatens to endanger the ecological balance of the area and the local people’s way of life.
Also nominated in the Best Film category are Wim Wenders’s Perfect Days, Snow Leopard by Pema Tseden,...
Hamaguchi’s nominations haul includes Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography for Yoshio Kitagawa. The film is Hamaguchi’s first film since his Oscar-winning Drive My Car and debuted at this year’s Venice Film Festival. The pic follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. A plan to construct a glamping site near Takumi’s house, offering city residents a comfortable “escape” to nature, threatens to endanger the ecological balance of the area and the local people’s way of life.
Also nominated in the Best Film category are Wim Wenders’s Perfect Days, Snow Leopard by Pema Tseden,...
- 10/3/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
In a flurry of international deals, Ryusuke Hamaguchi‘s “Evil Does Not Exist” has secured distribution across further key territories. Hamaguchi is best known for the Oscar winning film “Drive My Car.”
The film created a buzz at the Venice Film Festival following its world premiere in competition on Monday, and saw Hamaguchi receive an almost eight-minute standing ovation.
Further deals have been closed in Poland (Gutek Film), Latin America (Imovision), Australia and New Zealand (Hi Gloss Entertainment), and the ex-Yugoslavian region (Five Stars Film Distribution), all of which will release the film theatrically.
Previously, the film sold to North America (Sideshow), U.K. and Ireland (Modern Films), France (Diaphana), Italy (Tucker and Teodora), Spain (Caramel Films), Germany (Pandora Film Distribution), Korea (GreenNarae), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Taiwan (Andrews Film), Austria (Polyfilm), Turkey (Mars Film), Portugal (Leopardo Filmes), Hong Kong (Edko Films), Israel (Lev Cinemas), Greece (Ama Films), Switzerland (Cineworx...
The film created a buzz at the Venice Film Festival following its world premiere in competition on Monday, and saw Hamaguchi receive an almost eight-minute standing ovation.
Further deals have been closed in Poland (Gutek Film), Latin America (Imovision), Australia and New Zealand (Hi Gloss Entertainment), and the ex-Yugoslavian region (Five Stars Film Distribution), all of which will release the film theatrically.
Previously, the film sold to North America (Sideshow), U.K. and Ireland (Modern Films), France (Diaphana), Italy (Tucker and Teodora), Spain (Caramel Films), Germany (Pandora Film Distribution), Korea (GreenNarae), Benelux (September Film Distribution), Taiwan (Andrews Film), Austria (Polyfilm), Turkey (Mars Film), Portugal (Leopardo Filmes), Hong Kong (Edko Films), Israel (Lev Cinemas), Greece (Ama Films), Switzerland (Cineworx...
- 9/7/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Japanese auteur Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s forthcoming drama Evil Does Not Exist — his first feature since winning the best international film Oscar with Drive My Car last year — has locked down North American distribution with Sideshow and Janus Films. The film is set to world premiere in competition at the upcoming Venice Film Festival, followed by a special presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Written and directed by Hamaguchi, Evil Does Not Exist stars Hitoshi Omika, Ryo Nishikawa, Ryuji Kosaka, and Ayaka Shibutani and is produced by Satoshi Takata of Neopa Inc. It also reunites Hamaguchi with Drive My Car‘s composer Eiko Ishibashi.
Evil Does Not Exist follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to...
Written and directed by Hamaguchi, Evil Does Not Exist stars Hitoshi Omika, Ryo Nishikawa, Ryuji Kosaka, and Ayaka Shibutani and is produced by Satoshi Takata of Neopa Inc. It also reunites Hamaguchi with Drive My Car‘s composer Eiko Ishibashi.
Evil Does Not Exist follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to...
- 8/11/2023
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“Evil Does Not Exist,” the next film from Oscar-winning “Drive My Car” filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi, has secured North American distribution from Sideshow and Janus Films, reuniting the filmmaker with the distributors of his 2021 Best Picture Oscar nominee.
The film will have its world premiere at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, screening in competition. In addition to its Venice world premiere, “Evil Does Not Exist” will screen as a Special Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival and in the Main Slate at the New York Film Festival. Sideshow and Janus Films will release the film in theaters after its festival run.
The film follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a glamping site near Takumi’s house,...
The film will have its world premiere at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, screening in competition. In addition to its Venice world premiere, “Evil Does Not Exist” will screen as a Special Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival and in the Main Slate at the New York Film Festival. Sideshow and Janus Films will release the film in theaters after its festival run.
The film follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a glamping site near Takumi’s house,...
- 8/10/2023
- by Adam Chitwood
- The Wrap
Sideshow and Janus Films have acquired all North American rights to Academy Award-winning Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist ahead of its world premiere in Competition at the Venice Film Festival next month.
The companies previously enjoyed success with Hamaguchi’s 2022 Best International Film Oscar winner Drive My Car, which they picked up at the 2021 edition of Cannes in their first joint acquisition.
The film, which was also Oscar nominated for Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay, went on to be one of first successes at the specialty box office coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, grossing $2.3m gross in the U.S. and Canada.
New feature Evil Does Not Exist stars Hitoshi Omika, Ryo Nishikawa, Ryuji Kosaka, and Ayaka Shibutani and is produced by Satoshi Takata of Neopa Inc.
It follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them,...
The companies previously enjoyed success with Hamaguchi’s 2022 Best International Film Oscar winner Drive My Car, which they picked up at the 2021 edition of Cannes in their first joint acquisition.
The film, which was also Oscar nominated for Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay, went on to be one of first successes at the specialty box office coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, grossing $2.3m gross in the U.S. and Canada.
New feature Evil Does Not Exist stars Hitoshi Omika, Ryo Nishikawa, Ryuji Kosaka, and Ayaka Shibutani and is produced by Satoshi Takata of Neopa Inc.
It follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them,...
- 8/10/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
“Evil Does Not Exist,” the next film from “Drive My Car” director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, has landed North American distribution rights from Sideshow and Janus Films, which previously released “Drive My Car” to a Best Picture nomination in 2021.
“Evil Does Not Exist” is making its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival next month in competition, and it will also have a Special Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival and as part of the Main Slate at the New York Film Festival.
Sideshow and Janus Films will release the film in theaters after its fall festival run but did not specify a date.
Here’s the film’s official synopsis: “‘Evil Does Not Exist’ follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants...
“Evil Does Not Exist” is making its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival next month in competition, and it will also have a Special Presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival and as part of the Main Slate at the New York Film Festival.
Sideshow and Janus Films will release the film in theaters after its fall festival run but did not specify a date.
Here’s the film’s official synopsis: “‘Evil Does Not Exist’ follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants...
- 8/10/2023
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Berlin-based sales agent M-Appeal has sold “Evil Does Not Exist,” which will world premiere in Competition at the Venice Film Festival, to France, Italy and Spain. The film is directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, whose “Drive My Car” won the Oscar for International Film, was Oscar nominated for Best Picture, and earned him Oscar nominations for Directing and Adapted Screenplay last year.
“Drive My Car” premiered in Cannes Competition in 2021, winning four prizes including Best Screenplay.
Hamaguchi’s “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” which also premiered in 2021, won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the Berlinale.
“Evil Does Not Exist” has been co-acquired by Tucker and Teodora for Italian distribution. Tucker is specialized in Asian cinema and it handled “Drive My Car” and “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” and achieved great theatrical successes with those. Teodora is the distributor of prestigious art house films, such as recent Palme d’Or...
“Drive My Car” premiered in Cannes Competition in 2021, winning four prizes including Best Screenplay.
Hamaguchi’s “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” which also premiered in 2021, won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the Berlinale.
“Evil Does Not Exist” has been co-acquired by Tucker and Teodora for Italian distribution. Tucker is specialized in Asian cinema and it handled “Drive My Car” and “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” and achieved great theatrical successes with those. Teodora is the distributor of prestigious art house films, such as recent Palme d’Or...
- 7/24/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Berlin-based sales company M-Appeal will be handling eight films by Academy Award winner Hamaguchi Ryûsuke made between 2008-2016.
The deal follows M-Appeal’s previous collaboration with Hamaguchi and producer Takata Satoshi, of Neopa Inc., in 2021 on the film “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” which premiered in Berlinale Competition and won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize. “Drive My Car” by Hamaguchi screened in Cannes Competition the same year, before winning Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards.
The deal includes “Passion,” Hamaguchi’s 2008 graduation film for the School of Film & New Media at Tokyo University of the Arts, as well as “Happy Hour,” which world premiered in Locarno in 2015. “Happy Hour” won the Best Actress Award in Locarno, shared between the four lead actresses of the film, all of whom had no previous acting experience, as well as receiving a special mention for the film’s script. Other titles...
The deal follows M-Appeal’s previous collaboration with Hamaguchi and producer Takata Satoshi, of Neopa Inc., in 2021 on the film “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” which premiered in Berlinale Competition and won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize. “Drive My Car” by Hamaguchi screened in Cannes Competition the same year, before winning Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards.
The deal includes “Passion,” Hamaguchi’s 2008 graduation film for the School of Film & New Media at Tokyo University of the Arts, as well as “Happy Hour,” which world premiered in Locarno in 2015. “Happy Hour” won the Best Actress Award in Locarno, shared between the four lead actresses of the film, all of whom had no previous acting experience, as well as receiving a special mention for the film’s script. Other titles...
- 2/9/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
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