Cannes Marché du Film and Tokyo International Film Festival Content Market (TIFFCOM) have announced that they will co-organize the Japan IP Market in Cannes for a second consecutive year, from May 14-15.
The announcement was made at TIFFCOM during the seminar ‘Beyond Country of Honour: Building the Next Global Partnerships with Japan’, featuring Alexandra Zakharchenko, Head of Industry Programs at the Marché du Film, among the speakers.
Launched in May 2026 as part of Japan’s Country of Honour activities at the Marché du Film, the Japan IP Market brought leading Japanese rights holders together with international industry professionals through pitch sessions, targeted one-to-one meetings and industry discussions.
Participating companies included Kadokawa, Shochiku and Toei Company, while guest speakers included Filosophia Inc CEO Tetsu Fujimura, who was an executive producer on One Piece.
Japan had a big presence at both the Cannes film festival and market this year. In addition to being selected as Country of Honor in the Marché, three Japanese films were selected for Cannes Competition and several others played in other sections of the festival. Japanese actress Tao Okamoto was a joint winner of the festival’s Best Actress award, along with Virginie Efira, for their roles in Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s All Of A Sudden.
“The success of Japan, Country of Honour showed what can happen when a focused national presence creates lasting opportunities for the industry. The Japan IP Market is one of those outcomes: a collaboration that extends beyond a single edition and gives Japanese intellectual properties greater access to international partners,” said Guillaume Esmiol, Executive Director of the Marché du Film.
“I’m delighted that we are continuing this work with TIFFCOM to create more opportunities for rights holders to connect with international producers and partners, develop new adaptations and bring their stories to global audiences.”
Zakharchenko said: “The Japan IP Market is about creating the right conditions for business opportunities between Japanese rights holders and international companies,” says Alexandra, Head of Industry Programs at the Marché du Film. “By bringing them together in Cannes, we can help turn growing interest in Japanese content into concrete adaptation deals and acquisitions, while fostering new collaboration opportunities.”
TIFFCOM CEO Yasushi Shiina said: “Our partnership with the Marché du Film, the world’s largest film festival market, plays a significant role for Japan’s audiovisual industry. Meeting the international professionals who gather there and creating together with them is the key to nurturing Japanese IP into global content. I am grateful to the Marché du Film for its focus on Japanese IP and for co-organizing the Japan IP Market with us once again next year.”
Kaori Ikeda, TIFFCOM Managing Director, said: “At the inaugural Japan IP Market, we experienced the enthusiasm of producers and partners worldwide for Japanese IP,” adds “Through the continued partnership linking Cannes in May with the Tokyo IP Market in October, we are pleased to offer more professionals the opportunity to meet Japanese rights holders directly and discover the rich diversity of Japanese IP.”
Further details on participating companies and the 2027 program will be announced in coming months.
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