Tokyo-based production company K2 Pictures closed its K2P Film Fund I at $33 million and unveiled a 10-title slate at a press conference at Cannes, with the session anchored by the world premiere of a teaser trailer for “Shumei – The Living Legacy of Kabuki,” auteur Miike Takashi‘s inaugural documentary feature.
The fund closed in February with Mitsubishi UFJ Bank and the Development Bank of Japan among its principal backers. K2 Pictures also announced $67 million in debt financing secured alongside the fund, bringing its total financing to $100 million. Three productions backed by the fund are now complete – one of which opened theatrically in February – with three more in post-production and five further titles scheduled for release between June and December 2026. An additional five productions are set to begin shooting before year’s end.
“Shumei – The Living Legacy of Kabuki,” slated for a September release, turns Miike’s camera on the succession ceremony in which Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII formally inherited the storied Danjūrō name in Kabuki, Japan’s classical performing art. The film records the behind-the-scenes preparations for the actor’s name-inheritance debut performance. “Who exactly is Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII Hakuen? I want to ask this question in the simplest terms,” said Miike. “Danjuro Hakuen’s Kabuki is not merely Kabuki. It delves into the very essence of entertainment. This is a documentary that captures that journey.”
