HIROKAZU KORE-EDA, the celebrated Japanese director of Palme d’Or winning film “Shoplifters,” is developing multiple projects for Netflix. He is at work developing a big-budget film that he will direct and a series, for which he will be the showrunner and direct some episodes. The moves expand Netflix’s current program to ramp up its live action Japanese content which is crucial for success in the local market and is also increasingly being watched by international audiences. Kore-eda gave away few details of the subject matter of the projects, but in a video message to the Netflix Japan Festival on Wednesday, he teased their scale and his willingness to experiment. “Netflix and I are teaming up to create a drama series and a big-budget movie that is different from my previous works. I incorporate different elements from those in theater movies and try to create exciting works,” he said. Kore-eda, who has called himself an outsider in his home country, has previously demonstrated his willingness to oversee rising Japanese talent. In 2018 he came on board as producer of “Ten Years Japan,” an omnibus film in which filmmakers are asked to imagine their country 10 years into the future. Netflix has had considerable success in East Asia, but it has had to dig deep into local content to achieve success in Japan and South Korea. It has licensed, co-produced and developed original content in both places. On Tuesday, Netflix said that it will add 50 new pieces of Japanese content to the 90 it already offers. In particular, it plans to expand its position in Japanese feature film. Kore-eda signaled his interest in experimentation and the freedom to challenge stereotypes offered by long-form series and streaming platforms. “Realistically, radical films normally have little chance of being screened in theaters. In the end, they would not be seen by the audience. It’s not just in Japan but in every country. Through streaming, these films can be actually born into the world. I think it’s important,” he said.(SD-Agencies) | 