Three of Japan’s internationally acclaimed filmmakers are heading back to Cannes. Festival organizers announced last week that Hirokazu Kore-eda, Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Koji Fukada have all been selected for the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where they will vie for the Palme d’Or.
The 79th edition of the festival, running from May 12 to 23, marks the first time in 25 years that three Japanese directors have been in the running for the top prize. The lineup from 2001 included “Distance” by Kore-eda, “Visitor Q” by Takashi Miike and “H Story” by Nobuhiro Suwa.
Kore-eda’s entry this time around is “Sheep in the Box,” his eighth competition entry, a story set in the near future and starring Haruka Ayase and Daigo as grieving parents who bring a humanoid modeled after their deceased son into their home. The film is the director’s first original Japanese screenplay since “Shoplifters,” which won the Palme d’Or in 2018, and will have a theatrical release in Japan on May 29.
