Japanese filmmaker Nanako Hirose, a former protégé of Hirokazu Kore-eda, has completed filming polyamorous romantic drama Between Two Lovers for rising banner K2 Pictures.
The Japan-Taiwan co-production centres on a married woman who proposes living with both her husband and female lover. A local release has been set for November 27.
The cast is led by Masami Nagasawa, who won best actress at the Japan Academy Awards for her performance in 2020 drama Mother and is also known for Cannes 2017 title Before We Vanish and San Sebastian 2022 selection A Hundred Flowers.
The husband is played by Tasuku Emoto, seen most recently opposite Ken Watanabe in Samurai Vengeance, while the lover is played by Shizuka Ishibashi of upcoming NHK series Blossom. Emoto and Ishibashi previously starred together in Sho Miyaki’s Berlinale 2019 title And Your Bird Can Sing.
It marks the second fiction feature of Hirose, whose debut His Lost Name played in competition at Busan in 2018. She previously worked as an assistant director for Palme d’Or winner Kore-eda and Miwa Nishikawa at Bunbuku Inc., a Tokyo-based production company founded by the two directors.
Between Two Lovers was developed at Bunbuku and the project won the CJ ENM Award and ARRI Award at the Asian Project Market in Busan in 2023 at script stage when it was titled What’s Love Got To Do With It?. It is produced by Daiju Koide for K2 Pictures, which will also distribute the film.
Taiwanese crew members participated in the cinematography and lighting, led by Yao Hung-I, who was cinematographer on Hou Hsiao-hsien’s later works and Huang Xi Missing Johnny. Filming took place between September and October 2025.
“This story was born from the idea that there should be more diverse forms of family in the world,” said Hirose, who also wrote the script and edited the feature. “Although it bears the grand title of “Love” (in the original Japanese title), I wanted to delicately capture the obstacles people face when they begin to fall for someone or wish to build a family, the challenges of the female experience, and the rifts between partners, presenting them to the audience in a lighthearted manner.”
It marks the latest feature from K2 Pictures, which was launched in 2024 as an alternative to the traditional approach to film production in Japan, in which profits benefit financiers over creatives. Under K2’s system, 70% of profit goes to investors while 30% goes to cast and crew in addition to their base fee. It’s debut feature, satirical horror Mag Mag by comedian Yuriyan Retriever, opened in Japanese cinemas on February 6 following a festival run.
No comments yet