Los Angeles-based Synepic Entertainment has announced that their anticipated platform for Japanese independent cinema SAKKA is launching on May 25th, 2022. Their launch will feature five award-winning independent films that have charmed the crowd at the festival circuit.
As indicated by its name SAKKA, a Japanese word for “auteur”, the platform will focus on featuring and supporting the emerging directors from Japan with unique voices. It will have a featured page for the directors of their distribution titles and allow people to send short reviews directly to the filmmaker as part of its effort to bring the community closer. The audience can enjoy special bonus contents that are available with rentals and purchases. The company is also looking to host in-person screenings as the venues start to come back to normalcy.
The platform will not only stream the films that the company is distributing, but it will also allow people to search Japanese films that recently screened at selected film festivals. Later in the summer, they will open a store site where the fans can get autographed original goods, such as photobooks and Japanese movie theater pamphlets.
The company is acquiring more titles that they plan to distribute later this year. “We are thrilled to share and support these titles from Japan,” says Chiaki Yanagimoto, the president of Synepic Entertainment and the founder of the platform. “Since the announcement of the platform, we've been witnessing the outpouring of support from both sides of the Pacific. Our hope is that this platform will help both sides find each other, and it will create more conversations and encourage the directors of this generation in Japan.”
Their launch will feature five films: “Happy Hour”, the 2015 movie from recent Oscar nominee Ryusuke Hamaguchi; Sho Miyake's Berlinale pic “And Your Bird Can Sing” (2018); Seiji Tanaka's festival-favorite noir “Melancholic” (2018); Chihiro Amano's dark comedy “Mrs. Noisy” (2019); and Hajime Tsuda's visual stunner “Daughters” (2020). All films will be available for streaming in the US, while most are also available in territories beyond North America.
Stay tuned after the launch, on the Official SAKKA Website HERE
