Kii Muneyuki, the founder of K2 Pictures, shared a story during the Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF) in Taipei on Saturday regarding advice he received from Hong Kong star-director Stephen Chow. Kii recalled that Chow told him Japanese filmmakers should stop imitating kung fu and instead build action films based on Japanese martial arts.
“He said, ‘You have karate, judo, jujitsu and kendo. That is Japanese culture. Only you can turn it into action films, so you should be the ones doing it. Stop aping kung fu,’” Kii recalled, noting he has shared drinks with Chow in Tokyo on several occasions. Kii stated he agreed with Chow’s sentiment, citing the Netflix sumo drama “Sanctuary” as a project that successfully draws on culture unique to Japan.
Kii discussed his company’s K2P Film Fund I, which supported Kore-eda Hirokazu’s “Look Back.” While the fund closed a $33 million equity round in February, Kii noted that more companies have approached K2 since the close. He stated the round could reopen if existing backers agree, though he has not yet decided whether to do so. Currently, about 30 companies have invested, led by MUFG Bank, with other backers including Bandai, Dentsu, the government-backed Development Bank of Japan, and property companies Tokyu Land and Mori Trust.
The equity is being paired with loans to reach a total of $67 million, with a planned total of $100 million to target 50 films over seven years. Kii serves as the fund’s general partner.
During the session, Kii shared the stage with director Nagata Koto to discuss the Fukushima-set noir “The Nuke Crab,” which K2 unveiled at Cannes in May. Kii stated he and Nagata are aiming for a hit in Japan and in Eastern Europe, specifically Poland and Ukraine, where he believes audiences who lived through the Chernobyl accident might connect with the story. The project, which is in development with a target shoot date of next year, follows those who profited from the radiation clean-up of the Tohoku region.
Nagata described the subject as socially taboo in Japan, noting that major studios or TV networks would likely never take on such material. “When I took it to Kii-san, he immediately said, ‘That sounds interesting, let’s do it,’ and got it started,” Nagata said.
K2 Pictures operates under a “Japan plus one” strategy, aiming to pair Japan with one other specific market. Kii explained that different international audiences have different tastes for Japanese content, and that the Japanese people's preferences are different again. He noted that while the world knows of the Chernobyl disaster, far less is known about how lives changed afterward. Nagata stated her goal is to secure international sales early enough for an overseas release to run alongside the Japanese one, adding that shared emotions like friendship and family can make the unfamiliar feel closer. “I think jealousy and love are the same anywhere in the world, as long as we are human,” she said.
Kii established K2 Pictures as an alternative to Japan’s production committee system, which he argued kept out foreign investment and made it difficult to share returns with creators. At K2, profits are calculated title by title, with 70% going to investors and 30% to the creative side. K2 completed six films this year, including “Look Back” and Son Myung-ah’s debut feature “Trophy.”
Kii stated that 99.9% of Japan’s overseas film business consists of licensing deals, which he argued does little to raise the value of Japanese titles. He believes Japanese people promoting films in those markets is what raises their value.
Regarding production, Kii said greenlighting rests with six or seven producers, including himself, and he does not block a project a producer is set on, provided costs can be balanced against likely revenue. He noted that “Nobody can tell whether a film will be a hit,” and advised that if a film is only expected to bring in JPY50 million ($330,000), it should be made for JPY20 million ($130,000). He also stated that producers can line up pre-sales and streaming rights so that first-time directors do not lose money on their debuts.
Finally, Kii expressed a desire to change the law. He stated that a British entertainment lawyer and an American completion bond executive told him the film business works like real estate, where producers create assets to turn into cash. He noted that while Japan passed an investment trust law around 2000 to securitize real estate, it does not cover content. Kii said he has been discussing the need for such a law with lawyers and hopes to push for one.
