Japanese production and finance house K2 Pictures has announced the closing of its first film fund, through which it has raised $33M (JPY5BN), as well as new additions to its slate including Takashi Miike’s first documentary.
At a press event in Cannes today, the company also said it has raised $67M in debt financing for a total funding amount of $100M.
Founded by former Toei executive Muneyuki Kii, the company is pioneering an ambitious new financing model for the Japanese film industry – a film fund backed by institutional investors – providing an alternative to the production committee system, which has worked well for many projects, but restricts international collaboration as non-Japanese entities can’t participate.
The initial fund, K2P Film Fund I, closed in February 2026 with major investors including financial institutions such as Mitsubishi UFJ Bank and the Development Bank of Japan.
The company also announced that three films financed through the fund have already been completed, one of which was released in theaters in February 2026; three are currently in post-production, and five films are scheduled for release between June and December 2026. It was also reported that five films are scheduled to begin production this year.
Miike’s documentary – Shumei – The Living Legacy of Kabuki – about Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII, is set for release in September 2026. The film captures the historic name succession ceremony for the actor and records the behind-the-scenes preparations for his name-inheritance debut performance. K2 Pictures unveiled a trailer for the film at the press event in Cannes.
Miike said: “I have attempted to capture the inner conflict and loneliness of a man who continues to stand on stage, unflinchingly honing his Kabuki skills with rigorousness toward both himself and those around him, while simultaneously bearing the heavy responsibility of nurturing the next Danjuro.”
Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII said: “I am truly grateful and honored that the name Danjuro, passed down through generations over a long history, will be preserved for posterity in this film. I am already filled with great anticipation to see how director Miike will bring this story to life on screen.
“I also feel that there is profound significance in this film being released internationally. Just as the film Kokuho is currently attracting worldwide attention, I am delighted – as a Kabuki actor – that Kabuki, a traditional Japanese art form, is becoming widely known to audiences overseas and is being embraced as a form of entertainment.”
Other projects announced at the Cannes press event include:
*The Nuke Crab (working title), directed by Koto Nagata and executive produced and written by Shunji Iwai. Set in Fukushima after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the social noir depicts the divisions faced by local residents, including radiation contamination from the nuclear accident, compensation issues, the dark side of the decontamination business, and the struggles of the bereaved families of disaster victims. Iwai co-wrote the screenplay with author Riichi Akamatsu. Nagata is known for Baka’s Identity, which won Best Actor at last year’s Busan International Film Festival.
*Theatrical animation Gigant, based on the popular manga of the same name by Hiroya Oku, the original creator of Gantz. The sci-fi actioner features a sexy heroine, a porn actress who becomes gigantic due to a certain incident, as she fights against people from the future to protect her beloved boyfriend. The project marks K2 Pictures’ first animated feature project.
*Takuya Kato’s NAP (working title), featuring a protagonist who suffers from a social eating phobia and cannot eat in public, which is being set up as an international co-production between Japan, France and Iceland.
*Shinzo Katayama’s Mexican Horror (working title), a co-production with Miércoles Entertainment in the U.S. and The Lift in Mexico.
*Keishi Otomo’s Conde Koma (working title), set on the eve of World War I and telling the story of Mitsuyo Maeda, the man who sparked the movement leading to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and modern combat sports like the UFC’s MMA. The film is being set up as a co-production between Japan, Brazil and the U.S.
*My Teacher, currently in development, to be directed by No Deok and scripted by Junya Ikegami (The Blood Of Wolves). No Deok previously directed Japan-Korea co-production Very Ordinary Couple, which won the Best Asian Newcomer Award at the 2013 Shanghai International Film Festival.
*Hold (working title), the feature directorial debut of Ayako Fujitani, who has starred in films such as Hideaki Anno’s Shiki-Jitsu and Michel Gondry’s Tokyo!, while also working as a novelist and screenwriter, co-writing scripts with directors Park Chan-wook and Dave Boyle.
*UFO Club, a coming-of-age sci-fi that marks the feature-length debut of director Milena Kaneko and was selected for the projects market of this year’s Udine Far East Film Festival in Italy.
*Osamu Tezuka 100th Anniversary Project The Book of Human Insects, directed by Ken Ninomiya, celebrating one of most avant-garde works of the ‘God of Manga’ Osamu Tezuka. The film, which was pitched at this year’s ‘Spotlight on Japan ‘at Berlin’s EFM, adapts Osamu Tezuka’s book into a dark musical.
K2 Pictures was first launched at Cannes in 2024 and has already produced several previously announced films including Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Look Back, Nanako Hirose’s Between Two Lovers, Yuriyan Retriever’s Mag Mag and Miwa Nishikawa’s Children Untold, which was recently picked up for international sales by Italy’s Intramovies.