Film Constellation has closed key distribution deals for Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus, which captures the final performance of the late Japanese composer and received its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Tuesday (September 4).
The London and Paris-based firm has sold the feature to Spain (Filmin), Germany and Austria (Rapid Eye), Scandinavia (NjutaFilms), South Korea (Media Castle), China (JL Vision Films), Hong Kong and Macau (Edko Films), Taiwan (Cai Chang) and Singapore (Anticipate Pictures). Bitters End will handle the release of the film in Japan in 2024.
The black-and-white film chronicles the last performance of Sakamoto, the Oscar-winning composer of The Last Emperor and Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, who died in March aged 71 after battling cancer for several years. It has premiered out of competition at Venice.
Featuring just Sakamoto and his piano, it was filmed without an audience over 12 days in late 2022 at NHK Broadcast Center’s 509 Studio in Tokyo. It was shot by US cinematographer Bill Kirstein, known for his work on music videos with Beyonce, Alicia Keys and Justin Timberlake.
A total of 20 pieces, curated by Sakamoto and presented in his chosen order, are performed in the film wordlessly to narrate his life through his music. The selection ranges from his popstar Yellow Magic Orchestra period to his iconic film scores for Bernardo Bertolucci and meditative final album, 12.
Producers are Norika Sora and Eric Nyari for Japan’s Kab Inc, Albert Tholen and Aiko Masubuchi. Executive producer is the UK’s Jeremy Thomas, with whom Sakamoto collaborated on 1983’s Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, which played in Competition at Cannes and won the Bafta for best score, and 1987’s The Last Emperor, which won an Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy for best score, credited alongside David Byrne and Cong Su.
Sakamoto was a jury member at the 70th edition of Venice in 2013 and documentary Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda, directed by Stephen Nomura Schible, played out of competition at the festival in 2017. His final film score was for Hirokazu Koreeda’s Monster, which played in Competition at Cannes in May.
Film Constellation’s slate also includes Austin Stark and Joseph Schuman’s Coup!, which will close Venice’s Giornate degli Autori’s section; animation They Shot The Piano Player by Oscar-winner Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, set to play Toronto’s Centrepiece strand; TIFF Industry Selects and San Sebastian closing film Dance First, and San Sebastian Competition drama Un Amor by Isabel Coixet.
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