Hirokazu Kore-eda has a penchant for bringing things to life. The Japanese filmmaker has reanimated lifeless objects and souls who’ve lost their way, and he is currently revisiting some of those themes with his latest film Sheep In The Box which sees Our Little Sister (read review) actress Ayase Haruka and Daigo toplining. Deadline reports that production commenced earlier this September. There’ll be a huge traffic jam of Palme d’Or hopefuls for the 2026 edition of the Cannes Film Festival and perhaps master filmmaker Kore-eda will be in that mix. Here is what the trade gathered:
Written and directed by Kore-eda, Sheep In The Box is set in the near future, where a couple takes in a state-of-the-art humanoid into their home as their son.
“This project began with the idea of ‘bringing the dead back to life using the latest technology’,” says Kore-eda. “A few years ago, similar concepts had already been featured on Japanese television programs and attracted considerable attention. I was interested in exploring the conflicting perspectives regarding how technological advancement clashes with human inner values.
“In the spring of last year, I came across an article about the popularity of ‘resurrection businesses’ in China; and in the Fall, I met someone actually engaged in that field,” he continues. “It made me realize that such developments could occur in Japan as well, and with technology evolving at a pace far beyond what I had imagined, I felt that this reality might arrive sooner than expected.”
