Japan’s Oscar Submission ‘Cloud’ Acquired by Sideshow and Janus Films

“Cloud,” the action thriller from director Kiyoshi Kurosawa that was Japan’s official submission for the 97th Oscars, has been acquired for North American release by Sideshow and Janus Films, IndieWire has learned exclusively.

“Cloud” made its world premiere out of competition at Venice in 2024 and also played Toronto, Fantastic Fest, Beyond Fest, the Busan International Film Festival, and many more. The film failed to make the cut for the Best International Feature shortlist at the Oscars this year, but the title was widely acclaimed and will now be released theatrically in summer 2025. In fact, IndieWire listed it among the year’s Best Undistributed Films.

“Cloud” stars Masaki Suda as a sleazy online reseller of junk and fake goods who is obsessed with making a profit and the thrill of making money in real time. But after turning down a promotion at his day job, he’s approached with a business proposition that takes him and his girlfriend to a lakehouse outside the city, only to be hunted and stalked in a violent shoot-em-up by a crazed mob. The title “Cloud” refers to the “nebulous and formless internet service” that has permeated society, via the film’s official synopsis.

“In the obscure corners of modern-day Japan, violent incidents sometimes occur for seemingly no reason whatsoever. When the causes are investigated, it becomes apparent that a system of sorts exists through which petty grudges and frustrations are accumulated and blown out of proportion by the internet,” Kurosawa said in a statement. “I wondered if such a phenomenon would serve as subject matter for an action film, and began developing this project. Its protagonist is an extremely average man who, through his small-time moneymaking schemes, desires to gain even the slightest advantage over others. In this story, he carelessly incurs the ire of those around him, and ultimately finds himself dragged into a deadly battle with his life on the line.”

Kurosawa, who is known for his horror films “Cure” and “Pulse,” turns to action for “Cloud” for a morality tale about internet culture and how perpetually-online toxicity can create insanity in the real world, two decades after he first explored such themes with “Pulse.”

IndieWire’s review of the film out of Venice discussed how the first half of the film is composed of a slow-burn, hard-boiled suspense driven by petty online crimes and hostility, while the second half sees what happens when social-media violence turns into intense action.

“This is a story that takes place in a country and a world in which what people mean to each other is fraying apart at the seams, and it’s wildly satisfying to discover what that means in the context of Kurosawa’s characters,” IndieWire’s David Ehrlich wrote.

IndieWire also sat down with Kurosawa at Beyond Fest, where “Cloud” was just one of three films the Japanese filmmaker toured in 2024, alongside a remake of his 1998 thriller “Serpent’s Path” and a 45-minute horror film called “Chime.” Kurosawa discussed his feeling that it’s not that the internet makes people feel isolated and lonely, but that isolated and lonely people seek out the solace of the internet, amplifying those emotions — what he called a “constant danger” as emphasized in “Cloud.”

“‘Cloud’ is a wildly entertaining film about our anonymous digital existence that transforms itself into a vengeance driven action flick that only Kiyoshi Kurosawa could have dreamed up,” Sideshow and Janus Films said in a statement. “We are proud to work with Nikkatsu to bring what we consider one of Kurosawa’s best films to American audiences this summer.”

“Living in modern-day Japan, you can sense that society is heading in an ever more dangerous direction,” producer Yumi Arakawa said in a statement. “Incidents in which rage and madness born from a lack of mutual understanding unexpectedly spiral out of control. Unfathomable crimes arise from unreasonable resentment. Attacks are made on individuals via social media. It would come as no surprise if someone you know, or a person you’ve never met, were to be set upon by an assailant who just happens to be nearby. This is the age of ‘discommunication,’ and I’m astonished to see that, quite unexpectedly, reality is beginning to mimic the world depicted in this film.”

“Cloud” also stars Masataka Kubota, Yoshiyoshi Arakawa, Kotone Furukawa, and Daiken Okudaira. The producers of the film are Yumi Arakawa, Yuki Nishimiya and Nobuhiro Iizuka. The film was produced by Nikkatsu Corporation and Django Film Corporation, presented by “Cloud” Film Partners (Nikkatsu, Tokyo Theatres in association with US Cinema, Yomiuri TV, and Movie Walker).

Kurosawa previously won the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard Award for Best Director for “Journey to the Shore” (2015), the Venice International Film Festival’s Silver Lion (Best Director Award) for “Wife of a Spy” (2020), and the title of Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters from the French Government in June of 2024.

Sideshow and Janus Films had a strong 2024, releasing Payal Kapadia’s “All We Imagine As Light,” Gints Zilbalodis’ “Flow,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” and Maura Delpero’s “Vermiglio.” The labels’ other upcoming releases for 2025 include Alain Guiraudie’s “Misericordia,” David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds,” and Jia Zhang-ke’s “Caught By the Tides.”

The deal was negotiated by Sideshow and Janus Films with the Nikkatsu Corporation.