Japanese filmmaker Kore-eda brings beloved manga tale of friendship to Venice

PUBLISHED Sep 7, 2026, 9:10 PM ET

Acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda premiered his live-action adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga "Look Back" at the Venice Film Festival. Competing for the prestigious Golden Lion award, the film explores friendship, ambition, and loss through two schoolgirls bonded by a shared passion for drawing manga. Kore-eda explained that he discovered the 2021 graphic novel during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding profound personal solace within its pages during a challenging period. To honor the source material authentically, lead actors spent months learning how to draw manga, with several of their genuine illustrations integrated directly into the final motion picture production. Kore-eda emphasized that global perceptions of manga have shifted remarkably, noting that contemporary audiences now consume these works with the same literary appreciation once reserved for classical texts. The Venice Film Festival will announce the winner of the Golden Lion competition on Saturday, marking a major milestone for graphic novel adaptations in cinema.

By James Porter | JQJO News

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