We are honored to announce the film "Kaibutsu (Monster)" (co-financed and produced by AOI Pro.), directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, screenplay by Yuji Sakamoto, and music by Ryuichi Sakamoto, has officially screened in Competition at the 76th Cannes International Film Festival, and Yuji Sakamoto has won Best Screenplay.

Yuji Sakamoto has written award-winning scripts for many popular TV dramas, including “My Dear Exes” and many of his works have been remade internationally. His filmography includes “We Made a Beautiful Bouquet” (2021) which was a big hit in Asian markets. This is the first time he has won an award at the Cannes International Film Festival, one of the world's three major film festivals.

This is the first time since "Drive My Car" (2021) that a Japanese film has won the Best Screenplay Award. This is the second consecutive year that a film directed by Kore-eda has won in Competition, following "Baby Broker" (2022 / distributed in Japan by GAGA, Fuji Television Network, AOI Pro.) “Monster" was also awarded the Queer Palm, the Cannes International Film Festival's independent prize. “Monster" was unanimously selected by the Jury from among the films entered in the Festival. This is the first time a Japanese film has received this award. The official screening of the 21 films in Competition at the Cannes International Film Festival was held on May 17 (local time). This was the first official screening of this film, and after the screening the audience gave the film a standing ovation that lasted about nine and a half minutes.

Synopsis

When her young son Minato starts to behave strangely, his mother feels that there is something wrong. Discovering that a teacher is responsible, she storms into the school demanding to know what’s going on. But as the story unfolds through the eyes of mother, teacher and child, the truth gradually emerges。