Canoe Movie has boarded multigenerational love story “Akashi” for worldwide gross sales, excluding Canada and Japan, and is revving up purchaser conversations on the Cannes Film Market.
“Akashi” is the characteristic debut of Vancouver-based director, actor, and author Mayumi Yoshida, who’s attending the market as a part of Movie Community Entry’ 2026 cohort. Her movie gained the Viewers Award on the Vancouver Worldwide Movie Competition, the place it premiered final October, and picked up a number of accolades throughout its competition run.
Impressed by a real-life household secret- the filmmaker’s grandfather carried on an affair all through his marriage – the story follows a struggling Vancouver artist (Yoshida) who returns to Tokyo for her grandmother’s funeral, begins confronting hidden household truths, and unexpectedly crosses paths with a former love.
“Having ‘Akashi’ at the Cannes Marché this year feels especially meaningful with Japan being the country of honor,” Yoshida advised Selection earlier this week. “Cannes has always been a place where international cinema finds momentum, and it’s exciting to present a Japanese Canadian story like ‘Akashi’ on a prestigious global stage.”
“We’ve deeply felt the care and hustle that Canoe Film brings to their incredibly curated slate of projects, and we’re truly honored to be part of it,” added Yoshida, who additionally introduced that Echo Lake Leisure is now a part of her US administration.
Filmed principally in black-and-white in Japan – with Japanese actors – and in Canada, “Akashi” started as a stage play that premiered on the Vancouver Fringe Competition 10 years in the past and was developed into an award-winning quick movie in 2017.
Yoshida started engaged on a feature-length script in 2018 however hit a roadblock in 2021 when the venture didn’t meet Canadian authorities funder Telefilm’s requirement that tasks be primarily in English, French or an Indigenous language.
“I feel like it’s an erasure of identity,” Yoshida advised CBC Information on the time. “As storytellers, it’s kind of limiting our voices to only those languages instead of authentic language.” By activist actions, she and her colleagues and different allies helped change coverage, and “Akashi” obtained funding that allowed her to make the movie with out compromise.
“A theatrical film must be extraordinarily special to find meaningful distribution in the current market,” Canoe Movie managing director and proprietor Caroline Stern advised Selection. “I was immediately intrigued by the unexpected in ‘Akashi’ – a first feature that feels like the work of an old master, a contemporary story emerging from a classic aesthetic, a multi-generational love story where love is anything but easy.”
“We’ve begun conversations with buyers in Cannes, and initial feedback has been really encouraging,” she added.
KinoSmith will distribute “Akashi” in Canada, whereas Rabbit Home will launch it in Japan.
“Akashi” stars Yoshida (“The Man in the High Castle”), Hana Kino (“Like Father, Like Son”), Ryo Tajima (“Avalanche”), Chieko Matsubara (“Tokyo Drifter”), Kunio Murai (“Godzilla VS Gigan”), Shun Sugata (“Tokyo Vice”), Bun Kimura (“Rental Family”), Sayaka Kunisada, Hiro Kanagawa (“Shōgun”) and Jess McLeod (“Normal”).
The movie was produced by Tyler Hagan of Experimental Forest Movies (“Meadowlarks”) and Nach Dudsdeemaytha (who additionally served as editor) of Musubi Arts, his firm with Yoshida. The manager producers are Julie Waters, Evan Dyal, Mallory Schwartz, Kathleen Hepburn, and Justin Ambrosino. Hiroko Oda (Flag Inc.) was government in control of manufacturing in Japan.
Notable creatives embrace director of images Jaryl Lim (“Yaga”) and composer Andrew Yong Hoon Lee (“Riceboy Sleeps”).
