Japanese film distributor Tornado Film has filed for bankruptcy, the company announced today.
Tornado Film made the filing at a Tokyo court on April 1, announcing the news today on its official website.
With total liabilities of $3.18m (Y300m), president Shuntaro Kanai cited harsh industry conditions as the
cause.
Entering the film industry in the 1990s, Kanai worked for companies including New Select and Albatross as a buyer. In 2001 he famously bought French film Amelie, which went on to gross $17m in the territory.
Kanai founded another independent distributor, Phantom Film, in 2004, leaving the company to establish Tornado Film the following year. Titles Tornado distributed included The Bridge, Open Water 2: Adrift, Inside, and Afro Samurai: Resurrection.
Tornado also served as production company on local genre titles A Slit-Mouthed Woman, Goth and controversial gore movie Grotesque, which was banned in the UK.
The company has stated it will honour its advertising and co-distribution commitment to Gaspar Noé’s Enter The Void (pictured), which is scheduled to open in Japan on May 15.
The closure follows a string of bankruptcies and downsizings since late 2008, including Rumble Fish, Wise Policy, Xanadeux, Movie-Eye Entertainment and Cine Qua Non this January.
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