Cannes: Japan’s Imagica Group Selects Tomoka Terada’s ‘Maria’ to Launch First Original Film Slate

by

Tomoka Terada’s debut film, titled Maria, has been announced as the inaugural winner of the Imagica Group Film Project, a fresh endeavor aimed at nurturing unique Japanese cinema. This project was revealed on Wednesday during the Cannes Film Festival, where the Tokyo-based post-production company is celebrating its 90th anniversary.

Maria revolves around an 18-year-old caregiver who struggles with poverty, pregnancy, and broken family bonds within a deteriorating industrial harbor town. The movie, inspired by Terada’s experience as a social worker, showcases the lives of young individuals neglected by Japan’s aging population. This production is slated to be handled by Hana Tsuchikawa from OLM, Inc.

The decision was made by a jury that included Palme d’Or-winning director Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters), who praised Terada’s script as “realistic and well-written.” The jury, in agreement, backed the project. Kore-eda expressed his surprise at the screenplay’s humor and clarity, mentioning that it didn’t feel like a first attempt by the writer.

Imagica Group, a well-known player in Japan’s post-production sector, is committing ¥70 million ($500,000) towards the making of this film. They plan to bring on board other Japanese corporations as joint investors for this project. This new initiative will back one film annually over the course of five years, with an aim to showcase these productions at international film festivals. Other contributors assisting in the selection of the winning films include Shozo Ichiyama, the programming director of the Tokyo International Film Festival, and Yuka Sakano from the Kawakita Memorial Film Institute.

During the press conference in Cannes, Tsuchikawa highlighted the realistic, observational aspect of the script for the film “Maria“. She stated, “What stood out to me about Maria is its ability to infuse warmth into a narrative that might not typically be considered uplifting. There’s a sense of authenticity in how the characters struggle to persevere.

The Imagica Group’s Film Project only accepts applications from producers who are associated with one of the company’s subsidiaries. However, external directors and writers can collaborate with these eligible producers. This year, 88 proposals were submitted for consideration. Maria was chosen after a two-stage assessment, with the final decision being made in April by the jury.

Terada, who currently works as a social worker and has experience as an assistant director on Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Monster” and Emma Kawawada’s “My Small Land,” spoke about the origins of the project in a recorded message. She stated that the characters were based on real people she knows, rather than fictional ones. She expressed her desire to create something that emerged not from herself, but from the world she has closely observed.

Although the movie project is yet to be fully completed, members of the jury are optimistic that the Imagica initiative might persist past its initial five-year timeline and potentially broaden its scope to aid filmmakers throughout Asia. “It’s a promising beginning,” Ichiyama remarked. “However, it also presents an essential blueprint for how the private sector can fill the gap where institutional support is scarce [in Japan].

Upon learning of this project, Kore-eda remarked: “At last,” he said. “There’s a void in the process of discovering and nurturing upcoming Japanese filmmakers. If this approach persists, it could certainly bridge that gap.

Read More

2025-05-16 15:24