Japan’s Pictures Dept has announced that Shinji Aoyama’s The Backwater has been picked up by Rezo International for worldwide sales.
Rezo will launch sales at the Cannes market in cooperation with producer’s rep Pictures Dept.
Aoyama’s previous films include Sad Vacation, Eureka and Tokyo Park. The award-winning director’s latest work is adapted from Shinya Tanaka’s novel Tomogui (Dog Eat Dog), published by Shueisha.
Set in 1988 in a riverside town, The Backwater follows 17-year-old Toma who lives with his father, a man engaged in shady business, and his father’s mistress Kotoko.
Exposed to his father’s daily acts of abusive sex with Kotoko, Toma is repulsed but at the same time acutely aware that he shares the same blood as his father. Eventually, he becomes engrossed in exploring his sexuality with his girlfriend but their relationship breaks off suddenly when he turns violent towards her during intercourse – like father, like son.
Produced by Naoki Kai at production company Stylejam, the film is written by Haruhiko Arai. It stars Masaki Suda, Misaki Kinoshita, Yukiko Shinora, Ken Mitsuishi and Yuko Tanaka.
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