Palme d’Or–winning Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda is returning to the Lido with “Look Back“, his live-action feature adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s celebrated 2021 one-shot manga. The coming-of-age drama has been officially selected to compete for the prestigious Golden Lion in the main competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.

“Look Back“

The project represents the first live-action adaptation of a work by Fujimoto, the internationally acclaimed manga artist best known for “Chainsaw Man”. “Look Back” centers on Fujino (Natsuki Deguchi), an outgoing and confident student who draws four-panel manga for her elementary school’s newspaper, and Kyomoto (Aju Makita), a reclusive classmate suffering from severe social anxiety whose artistic prowess initially stirs Fujino’s envy. Brought together by their mutual obsession with illustration, the two girls form a profound friendship that spans thirteen years as they navigate ambition, heartbreak, and the pursuit of their creative passions into young adulthood. Younger depictions of Fujino and Kyomoto are played by real-life classmates Furi Nanase and Rokka Okada.

Kore-eda—who served as writer, director, and editor—first encountered the manga by chance in a bookstore and was deeply moved by its portrayal of artistic conviction. Produced by Daiju Koide under K2 Pictures, “Look Back” was shot on 35mm film by cinematographer Senzo Ueno, primarily on location in Nikaho, Akita. The production reunites Kore-eda with leads Deguchi and Makita, both of whom previously starred in his Netflix series “The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House”. The film’s score is composed by Yuta Bandoh.

The selection marks Kore-eda’s fourth appearance in the main competition at Venice, following “Maborosi” (1995), “The Third Murder” (2017), and “The Truth” (2019). “Look Back” will make its world premiere on the Lido before making its North American debut at the Toronto International Film Festival and opening in Japanese theaters on September 11, 2026.

At Venice, “Look Back” will compete in an international lineup featuring Werner Herzog’s “Bucking Fastard”, Florian Zeller’s “Bunker”, Casey Affleck’s “Company”, Marco Bechis’s “Ritorno a Buenos Aires”, and Martin McDonagh’s “Wild Horse Nine”.

From Tokyo to Venice

Born in Tokyo, Japan, Kore-eda turned 64 on June 6, 2026. The 83rd Venice International Film Festival will run from September 2-12, 2026 in Venice, Italy.

Though separated by thousands of miles, Tokyo and Venice remain dynamically connected through their shared heritage as cities shaped by water. These two iconic global destinations share a deep, fascinating bond built on water, architecture, and artistic exchange.

Historically, both cities developed an intricate relationship with their surrounding aquatic environments. Long before modern skyscrapers transformed Tokyo, the historic city of Edo was built around a network of canals, rivers, and coastal trade routes that mirrored the lagoon-based maritime empire of historic Venice.

That shared water identity manifests in modern culture as well. At Tokyo DisneySea, the Mediterranean Harbor explicitly pays homage to Venetian culture, complete with detailed Italian architecture and functional gondolas navigating artificial canals.

Beyond pop culture, the two cities share a robust artistic connection. Tokyo regularly serves as a major host for satellite exhibitions of the world-famous Venice Biennale, bringing contemporary Italian and global art to Japanese audiences. In return, Japanese architects and artists frequently draw inspiration from Venice’s historic preservation, using the city as a case study for sustainable urban design along rising sea levels.