Japan Cuts 2026 has unveiled its full lineup for the 19th edition of North America’s largest Japanese film festival, with Ishikawa Kei’s “A Pale View of Hills” – an adaptation of Nobel Prize laureate Kazuo Ishiguro‘s debut novel – serving as centerpiece and Kore-eda Hirokazu‘s “Sheep in the Box” closing the festival following its world premiere at Cannes.
The festival runs July 8–18 at the Japan Society, with global technology company Canon joining as title sponsor for the first time.
Ishikawa’s film, a Japanese-British-Polish co-production that had its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, stars Hirose Suzu and Yoshida Yoh as the same character at different points in time, tracing a woman’s postwar memories across 30 years. The festival will honor Hirose with the 2026 Cut Above Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film at the July 13 centerpiece screening, which also includes a Q&A and reception. Hirose will also appear to introduce a revival screening of Kore-eda Hirokazu’s “Our Little Sister” – the film that marked her breakthrough – with the festival asking attendees to refrain from requesting photos or autographs at either event.
Kore-eda Hirokazu’s “Sheep in the Box,” which had its world premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, screens July 18 as the closing night film, with the director attending in person for a Q&A and reception. The science-fiction parable stars Ayase Haruka, Yamamoto Daigo and Kuwaki Rimu as a grieving couple who adopt an AI-powered robot built in the image of their dead son.
