Takeshi Kitano to shoot his first streaming film for Amazon

The Japanese director of Hana-bi and Zatoichi returns with a twentieth feature which will be broadcast on Prime Video.

After being honored by the Quinzaine des cinémas this year, whose poster was taken from one of his paintings, Takeshi Kitano announces that it is currently at the helm of a project intended to be broadcast on Prime Video.

Filmmaker, painter, comedian (under the name Beat Takeshi), actor and writer, the seventy-seven-year-old Japanese is launching his twentieth feature film, after Kubireleased only last year in Japan. Variety reports the words of the director: “We are currently diligently filming, so stay tuned for more information”.

For its part, parent company Amazon announces “produce the feature film by world-renowned Japanese director Takeshi Kitano, who will also star in the film”.

A fame that the filmmaker owes to films like Hana-biGolden Lion at Venice in 1997 and nominated for the César for Best Foreign Film; The Summer of Kikujiroselected in official competition on the Croisette 1999, just like Contempt in 2010. But also A Scene at the Sea, Sonatina, deadly melody, Kids Return, Aniki, my brother, Zatoichi…

This is the first time that Takeshi Kitano has collaborated with a streaming platform. For the studio, it’s a great achievement, which will soon give more character to the Prime Video catalog. According to the head of international original productions at Amazon MGM Studios, James Farrell :

“Kitano is an icon in Japan, but also in the sphere of cinema and global media entertainment. We are delighted to collaborate with him on this project, which will soon launch on Prime Video. This collaboration reinforces the vision that Amazon has MGM Studios to become the home of talent, which will lead to many more successful collaborations in the future. We are confident that Kitano-san’s fans and followers will be eager to see what the genius filmmaker has in store.”

For the moment, this project has no title, no official synopsis, no release date, but as the director himself announced, we will soon know more.

Cannes 2023: with Kubi, Takeshi Kitano signs his ultimate masterpiece