Producers behind Hayakawa Chie’s Cannes competition title “Renoir” are among the speakers at a session on Asia-Europe co-production at Tokyo’s TIFFCOM market on Oct. 30, as Japanese accelerator Atmovie Global Track formalizes a partnership with Europe-based workshop Ties That Bind.
The open panel, titled “Building Creative Partnerships,” will examine how producers and directors work together to bring projects up to an international level, drawing on case studies of films made between the two regions. It will run in tandem with the Tokyo International Film Festival, and any TIFFCOM badge holder can attend.
On the panel are Mizuno-Gray Eiko, CEO of Tokyo-based Loaded Films, and French producer Christophe Bruncher of Ici et Là Productions, who both worked on “Renoir,” which competed at Cannes in 2025. Mizuno-Gray’s credits also include Hayakawa’s “Plan 75,” which received a special mention for the Caméra d’Or at Cannes in 2022 and went on to become Japan’s Oscar entry, as well as Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s “To the Ends of the Earth.” She is developing a Poland-Japan co-production from director Ishikawa Kei and a Japan-Philippines project from Hirayanagi Atsuko, and is also a support producer on the accelerator. She also sits on the Tokyo festival’s Asian Future jury this year.
Bruncher, a La Fémis graduate who speaks Mandarin, is head of studies for Ties That Bind. His recent co-productions include Muriel d’Ansembourg’s Berlinale title “Truly Naked” and Kamila Andini’s Toronto selection “Four Seasons in Java,” both of which feature at this year’s Tokyo festival.
Joining them are Oh Heejung, the Seoul- and Amsterdam-based founder of Seesaw Pictures, whose films have played Sundance, Berlin, Locarno, IDFA, Rotterdam and Busan, and Moriya Takeshi, the Atmovie CEO who founded the accelerator. Moriya’s producing credits span TV series “Midnight Diner” and Uchida Eiji’s “Midnight Swan,” which was named picture of the year at the 44th Japan Academy Film Prizes. Atmovie Global Track producer Sekiguchi Mio, whose credits include Uchida’s “Fiamma,” curated the panel.
Ahead of the public event, Oh and Bruncher will mentor a closed two-day workshop for the accelerator’s fellows on Oct. 27 and 28, built around group sessions in which participants will develop their projects and discuss career paths rather than sit through lectures.
The overall program was curated by Alessandro Gropplero, who runs the Friuli Venezia Giulia Audiovisual Fund and co-founded Ties That Bind, which the FVG fund organizes with EAVE and the Udine Far East Film Festival. The workshop brings European and Asian producers together on project development, financing, co-production opportunities and networking.
Atmovie Global Track prepares Japanese filmmakers to take original projects into the international co-production market through lectures and mentoring from Japanese and overseas industry figures. Selected fellows pitch at festivals, with milestones including the Japan Pavilion at Cannes in May 2025 and the Japan Pitch event at the Busan International Film Festival in October. The organizers said many creators struggle to build trust across cultures and to communicate outside their native language, and that the open session is meant to share lessons with the wider industry and grow the network of Japanese filmmakers pursuing international work.
Support for the program comes from the Japan Creator Support Fund, which the Japan Arts Council created using Agency for Cultural Affairs funding.