<\/p>\n
A Spanish director is bringing a distinctly Japanese story to the screen with \u201cKonbini,\u201d a humanistic drama about an elderly man who deliberately shoplifts to get arrested and the convenience store worker who derails his plan.<\/p>\n
The project, selected for the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market, follows Kisayo, a struggling sound artist working night shifts at a Tokyo convenience store, who thwarts an old man\u2019s blatant attempt to get himself jailed through shoplifting. An unlikely friendship forms between the two, bridging their very different worlds.<\/p>\n
More from Variety<\/strong><\/p>\n Director Pedro Collantes (Venice selection \u201cThe Art of Return\u201d) was drawn to the material after learning about a disturbing trend in Japan: an increasing number of elderly people committing petty crimes with the goal of imprisonment. \u201cWhat kind of person chooses to go to prison on purpose? What emotions and circumstances lead to such a desperate decision?\u201d Collantes asks. \u201cIt is a terrible irony that some people feel more a part of a community being in jail, than free in society.\u201d<\/p>\n While rooted in Japanese social reality, Collantes believes the film\u2019s themes resonate globally. \u201cThe reflection on the place to which we, as societies, relegate people who reach old age resonates beyond the specific cultural context of Japan to a global audience,\u201d he says. \u201cThe intention is to emphasize the universal value of human dignity and the need for empathy and intergenerational connection.\u201d<\/p>\n Making a Japanese-language film in Japan as a foreign director presents unique challenges. \u201cIt constantly tests my sensitivity to culture, language, and nuance,\u201d Collantes admits. Though his wife is Japanese and he\u2019s spent extended periods in the country, he describes building a bridge between two creative worlds as \u201ca delicate, humbling task.\u201d<\/p>\n The production has already achieved significant milestones, winning the Tsutaya Creators\u2019 Program and securing support from Japanese co-producers Culture Entertainment. \u201cAmong the highlights, winning the Tsutaya Creators\u2019 Program was a true turning point,\u201d Collantes says. The director is currently scouting locations and casting in Tokyo.<\/p>\n Producer Pedro Hernandez Santos of Spain\u2019s Aqu\u00ed y All\u00ed Films<\/a> (\u201cLa deuda\u201d) sees the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market as an opportunity to expand the project\u2019s European footprint. \u201cWe already have a solid project in collaboration with Culture Entertainment, our Japanese co-producers, but we believe there\u2019s room to bring in an additional European partner,\u201d he says. The team is also focused on securing international sales following early interest.<\/p>\n The film represents groundbreaking territory as the first Spanish-Japanese co-production directed by a Spanish filmmaker but shot entirely in Japanese. Spanish and European funds have already backed the project, reinforcing its cross-cultural ambitions. \u201cThat pioneering aspect is precisely what makes the journey so special and challenging at the same time,\u201d Hernandez Santos notes.<\/p>\n Production is scheduled for next summer, with delivery targeted for 2027. \u201cWe believe we have a unique, beautiful, and tender film that can perform very well in theaters worldwide,\u201d the producer says.<\/p>\n After completing \u201cKonbini,\u201d Collantes plans to continue exploring cross-cultural narratives with a project examining the encounter between France and Spain.<\/p>\n Best of Variety<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Spanish director is bringing a distinctly Japanese story to the screen with \u201cKonbini,\u201d a humanistic drama about an elderly man who deliberately shoplifts to get arrested and the convenience store worker who derails his plan. The project, selected for the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market, follows Kisayo, a struggling sound artist working night shifts at a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2121815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[402852,26630,346351,402851,370853],"class_list":["post-2121814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-culture-entertainment","tag-japan","tag-konbini","tag-pedro-collantes","tag-tokyo"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/\u2018Konbini-Bridges-Cultures-at-Tokyo-Gap-Financing-Market.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2121814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2121814"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2121814\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2121816,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2121814\/revisions\/2121816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2121815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2121814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2121814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2121814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}