Top 100 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2016: #53. Shinji Aoyama’s True Horror Story

True Horror Story

Director: Shinji Aoyama
Writer: NA

Despite playing in the Cannes main competition two years in a row in the early 2000s (with masterpiece Eureka in 2000 and Desert Moon in 2001), Japanese auteur’s works are still largely unavailable in the US. His last feature, 2013’s The Backwater premiered at Locarno (nabbing Best Director) and failed to book any festival play in the US or distribution. During Cannes 2015, it was announced Aoyama would be directing True Horror Story, a Japanese-Malaysian co-production about supernatural phenomena plaguing a Japanese couple visiting Malaysia. Principal photography is rumored to begin early 2016, and we hope the project will benefit from the initial interest conveyed by the trades in early announcements.

Cast: NA

Production Co.: Roads to Shangri-La Inc.

U.S. Distributor: Rights available TBD (domestic/international)

Release Date: Though a start date has been unconfirmed, we are hoping Aoyama could have his latest ready to unveil in the fourth quarter, perhaps a return to Venice (where he last premiered in 2006 with Crickets).