NEWS

Iori Abe will play the leading role in “Boku no Naka ni Saku Hanabi”. The film is directed by up-and-coming director Yusho Shimizu, who won the Best J.Horror Award at the Japan Film Festival Los Angeles 2022.

Panasonic Make New movie won Silver in the Achievement in Production category in the Crafts category at the 70th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity!

The featured film, Biohazard: Death Island directed by Eiichirô Hasumi has come out in theater since July 7th in Japan. KAIJU INC. was in charge of casting actors for motion capture.

[Synopsis]
D.S.O. agent Leon S. Kennedy is on a mission to rescue Dr. Antonio Taylor from kidnappers, when a mysterious woman thwarts his pursuit. Meanwhile, B.S.A.A. agent Chris Redfield is investigating a zombie outbreak in San Francisco, where the cause of the infection cannot be identified. The only thing the victims have in common is that they all visited Alcatraz Island recently. Following that clue, Chris and his team head to the island, where a new horror awaits them.

Towa Araki, Durian Lollobrigida, Hono Miyabe joined the premiere screening for the short film, Strange directed by Ken Ochiai.

The shot film, “Strange” directed by Ken Ochiai has been nominated for Asia International & Japan Program of Short Shorts Film Festival & Asian 2023.

Screening Information:
DATE/TIME: Sunday, June 25 @11:2- to 13:10
LOCATION: Omotesando Hils Space O

Online Screening:
TERM: June 26 to July 10 (Domestic streaming only)

***Please check the official site for your apply and more information.
https://shortshorts.org/2023/program/aj/aj-11/strange/

WELCOME TO NIKE JUKU has won SILVER SPIKE in Casting category and GOLD SPIKE in Direction category at Spikes Asia FESTIVAL OF CREATIVITY.

The teaser Trailer for “Strange,” a short film directed by Ken Ochiai x produced by Digital Hollywood University Graduate School / WOS, has been released‼︎

CAST: Toba Araki Durian Lollobrigida Miyabe Hono

Director/Screenplay: Ken Ochiai
Original story: “Strange” by Yuruko Tsuyuuki (Torch Comics, published by Lido)

Youtube link

The Bloat, written and directed by up-and-coming Tokyo-based horror filmmaker Pablo Absento, has been in post production now and expected to be completed by mid-2023. KAIJU INC. is honor to be a  part of this project!!

*Synopsis: “Bloat” tells the story of a mother (Novakovic) and two sons who are vacationing in Japan. The father of the family (McKenzie), who is a military officer, is away stationed in Turkey. During their stay outside Tokyo, their younger son almost drowns in a lake. Soon after the accident, the parents realize that something is wrong with their boy.

HBO Max has ordered a second season of Tokyo Vice from FIFTH SEASON and wowow, Japan’s leading pay TV player. It stars Ken Watanabe and Ansel Elgort and hails from creator and writer/executive producer J.T. Rogers. Please stay tuned for new cast!

Singer-songwriter annie the clumsy has been cast in Apple Original’s new dark comedy “Sunny,” starring actors Hidetoshi Nishijima and Rashida Jones, as Susie (Rashida Jones)’s new friend “Mixxy,” an aspiring bartender. KAIJU INC. is in charge of casting “Mixxy”.

***the news has been released by DEADLINE: LINK

“SUGAR GLASS BOTTLE” directed by Neo Sora, won BEST NARRATIVE SHORT
at 2022 Indie Memphis Film Festival!!

AppleTV+’s CASTING TEAM for “PACHINKO” is nominated for 38th annual Artios Awards (Television Pilot and First Season -DRAMA CATEGORY)!!

We are thrilled to finally reveal that KAIJU INC was part of the casting for the English version of Wild Hearts, a major blockbuster collaboration between Koei Tecmo’s Omega Force and EA Originals.

The official reveal trailer

Uber Eats “Reading” won first place in the first half of 2022 commercial creative ranking!

Ko Iwagami has been selected a CASTING JURY member for 2022 D&AD Awards Casting Category.

The trailer for “LA REVANCHE DES CREVETTES PAILLETÉES”, the sequel to “Shiny Shrimps” starring Briana Gigante, has been released.

“My Small Land” directed by Ema Kawawada which we supported for casting, was awarded a special commendation from the Amnesty International Film Awards at the Generation section of the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival, the first Japanese film to receive such an award!

miss osaka” has been selected as the closing film of the 17th Osaka Asian Film Festival!

The 1st Osaka Asian Film Festival will be held for 20 days from March 10, 2022, and “miss osaka” will be screened for the first time in Japan on March 20 at abc hall in Osaka.

This film was also screened at
「the 37th Warsaw International Film Festival」 in Poland.

Tokyo Vice, directed by Michael Mann (pilot), starring Ken Watanabe and Ansel Elgort hails from creator and writer J.T. Rogers finally will premiere with three episodes on Thursday, April 7, followed by two episodes airing every Thursday until the season finale on April 28.

Mosaic Street is a Japanese/English crime drama set in a near-future Japan where “diversity” is already nothing but a norm for its people. This film showcases how Japanese filmmakers can create an intriguing and appealing drama for international audiences by diverse casting. The other goal of the film is to show international filmmakers how diversified modern-day Japan is, and to update their view on Japan and its culture.

★Youtube LINK

CREW：
Created, Written, Produced by Yuki Matsuzaki
Directed, Edited by Shiho Fukada
Produced by Rikiya Takano

CAST：
Takanori: Kota Ishijima
Mayumi: Ami Ide
Wakaba: Ema Grace
Wakita: Yuki Matsuzaki
Meister: Hiroyuki Watanabe

Casting by Ko Iwagami, CSA
Music by Ken Rangkuty

Executive Producers: Kota Ishijima, Shiho Fukada, Ko Iwagami, Eiji Leon Lee
Director of Photography: Keith Bedford
First Assistant Director, Colorist: Koji Yamamoto
Sound Edited by Ken Takeuchi, Moe Suzuki

“Get To Know the Casting Director: Ko Iwagami”, the article of the interview with KAIJU INC. CEO, Ko Iwagami has been published in CASTING NETWORKS!!!

Article by Cat Elliott
Photo by Ken Hirama / @kenhirama (Instagram)

LINK: CASTING NETWORKS, “Get To Know the Casting Director: Ko Iwagami”

“Shiny Shrimps!”which was released in Japan this summer, YouTuber Briana Gigante will appear in the sequel (to be released in 2022)!

The film tells the story of the Shiny Shrimps, a gay water polo team, as they strive to qualify for the Gay Games, the world’s largest LGBTQ+ festival. Briana Gigante, who is making Briana’s first appearance in a movie, will appear in the Tokyo part of the film.

The feature film “My Small Land,” which we helped casting, is scheduled to be released nationwide in the summer of 2022.

Synopsis:
17 year old Sarja (Rina Arashi), who grew up in Japan, leaves her birthplace with her Kurdish family. She leads a normal life at school, just like her Japanese peers, until she loses her residency status and her family’s life changes for the worse. Saitama prefecture has a region with about 2,000 Kurdish people, and the main character is a young student who lives there. The story follows the struggles of his identity and his growth when he meets a Japanese boy.

To celebrate the 10 million YouTube views of Fujii Kaze’s “Seishun Sick” MUSIC VIDEO, “Seishun Sick MV Behind The Scenes” has been released on YouTube. There are a lot of scenes that couldn’t be included in the main video! We hope you enjoy it!

The short film “ROBU” won the “Cinematic Tokyo Competition Best Short Award” at the 2019 Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia in Tokyo, and has since been shown at many film festivals including the HOLLYSHORTS Film Festival, SHOW ME SHORTS Film Festival, NAPA VALLEY Film Festival The film has since been shown at many film festivals including HOLLYSHORTS Film Festival, SHOW ME SHORTS Film Festival, NAPA VALLEY Film Festival, and AUSTIN Film Festival. The film has now been released on the web and can be viewed on the YouTube channel of DUST, a science fiction film distribution company.

Here is the link to watch below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m_W73Z4dv8&t=25s&ab_channel=DUST

The first and second episodes of “LIL YUCKY,” a drama series about zombies in Tokyo presented in a new video and manga format designed for smartphone viewing, has been released today, Friday, October 29!

◉ Story: A man with tattered clothes and a strange smell suddenly appears at an apparel company in Tokyo. The man’s appearance is like a zombie. While wandering the streets of Tokyo after being kicked out of the company, he encounters a group of young people enjoying a Halloween party. Bob and Kento mistake it for Halloween makeup and join the party, but…