Director Discusses Cannes Premiere of Historical Drama Set in Feudal Japan

A film set in feudal Japan will have its world premiere in the Cannes Premiere section of the Cannes Film Festival. The story follows a warlord who has risen against a rival leader and finds himself confined within his castle walls as mysterious deaths occur.

He forms an alliance with a strategist held in the dungeon below. The production was shot largely on historical sets at Shochiku Studio and on location at temples and castles in Kyoto. Interiors of the castle were built larger than typical modern sets, which created a confined atmosphere similar to a stage production.

The approach drew from classical jidaigeki films of the 1950s.

The narrative adapts a Naoki Prize-winning novel and centers on the relationship between the warlord and the prisoner. Scenes between the two leads feature shifting power dynamics that were described as intense during filming. The film maintains a deliberate pace and precise architectural framing.

A central phrase in the story, rooted in Japanese Buddhism, frames the moral argument around advancing toward profit or choosing retreat. The production aims to present the material in a way that allows audiences unfamiliar with the historical period to follow the story without specific background knowledge.

The director has expressed interest in exploring ambitious genre filmmaking similar to recent Hollywood releases. Specific projects remain undecided at this time.