‘Children Of The River' team on being the first Italy-Japan co-production treaty

Children Of The River, written and directed by Japanese film director Lisa Takeba, is the first production to take advantage of the Italy-Japan coproduction agreement signed in August.

As such, “everyone is curious to know we proceed, how it works,” producer Parsifal Reparato told Screen at TIFFCOM, the market that runs alongside Tokyo International Film Festival from October 30 - November 1.

Children Of The River is scheduled to be shot in the summer of 2025 and is set along the beautiful rivers of Shikoku, located in the southern part of Japan. It tells the story of a summer journey of self-discovery by twin sisters who are young art students. The region is also a holy Buddhist pilgrimage site, featured in Haruki Murakami’s novels.

“The story is about being sisters, it’s a universal concept,” said Reparato, who participated in this week’s Tokyo Gap-Financing Market alongside Takeba. Reparato is confident they will have secured the remainder of the budget.

“We have a production asset, which is Lisa. This is not the first movie that she’s done, it’s the fifth, and she’s really well connected,” said Reparato.

Takeba’s previous features include The Pinkie and Haruko’s Paranormal Laboratory, which premiered at Rotterdam in 2014 and 2015 respectively; Busan 2019 opening film The Horse Thieves. Roads of Time, co-directed with Kazakhstan’s Yerlan Nurmukhambetov; and horror-thriller Signal 100, which debuted at Sitges in 2019.

On board as producers are Shozo Ichiyama (Spirit World, Ash Is The Purest White) of Fourier Film and a partnership with Nagoya TV.

The project is a test case as the first production to make use of the Japan-Italy coproduction treaty, which was signed in August this year. However, the pair feel excitement rather than pressure.

“The Directorate General for Cinema for Italy and Unijapan are really supporting this project,” Reparato said. “Because we’re the first, we have a spotlight on us, so we’re very thankful to DG Cinema and Unijapan for their support.”

Potential pitfalls of language gaps and differing working styles are being avoided through the structure of production. “All of the shooting is set and will be completed in Japan with Japanese crew, except for the DP [directory of photography],” said Takebe.

The filmmaker is reuniting with Aziz Zhambakiyev, who served as DP on The Horse Thieves. Roads of Time, a Japan-Kazakhstan co-production.

“All the post-production will then be done in Italy,” Takeba confirmed. “My plan is to accept the Italian style [of working].”

“I didn’t propose an Italian DP because she has her team,” added Reparato. “I wasn’t interested in pressuring her. I respected that. It’s important she’s comfortable with the team.”

Using the coproduction treaty was a natural fit for Takeba, who is an admirer of Italian culture and cinema. On the production side, “our business approach is quite different,” Takeba said. “Japanese people don’t clearly express their emotions, it’s a high-context language. I admire Italian people’s expression.

“To do business, we had to take time to get to know each other. All our Japanese business partners are excited to work with the Italian team. It’s a big challenge but there is also big potential — not just to make a movie but have a cultural and skills exchange.”

This story was written in conjunction with our sister site Screen