NINJA THE MONSTER: Warriors and Kaiju from Shochiku

Source: Shochiku Co., Ltd., Kyoto HISTORICA International Film Festival Official Site: ninja-monster.jp (Japan)

A bodyguard Ninja encounters an unidentified Kaiju. Can he protect a beautiful princess? Following screenings at internal festivals, Shochiku will give their new fantasy film NINJA THE MONSTER (??????????, Ninja za Monsutaa) a one week limited theatrical run in Japan starting February 20th. The movie is the first produced by Shochiku`s Blue Line Label, a new budget label established to develop young filmmakers and appeal to oversea markets. Directed by Ken Ochiai (UZUMASA LIMELIGHT) and written by Akihiro Dobashi (SAMURAI HUSTLE), NINJA THE MONSTER stars Dean Fujioka (I AM ICHIHASHI) and Aoi Morikawa (THE WORLD OF KANAKO, FATAL FRAME). Synopsis The time is the mid-samurai era when ninja were banned. Sachi, a beautiful princess of the Nagano clan is traveling to Edo (present-day Tokyo). Among her men is Denzo, an ex-ninja whose true background has been hidden. When the company enters the mountain forest, they are suddenly attacked by a mysterious Mononoke. Denzo manages to save the princess, but the rest of her men are killed killed in battle with the monster. Princess Sachi must still reach Edo to ensure the future of her clan. As Denzo strives to protect her from the monster and pass safely over the mountain, Sachi starts to question his true identity and why he risks his life for her. Director: Ken Ochiai Ken Ochiai was born May 31, 1983. He started filmmaking at the age of 12, and moved to America after graduating high school in Japan. He entered the University of Southern California to study at the Cinematic Arts department, and was the first Japanese to be awarded the Jury Prize from the Directors Guild of America for his graduation project HALF KENNETH. In 2011, he established the production company Photosynth Entertainment in Los Angeles and directed in fields that included film, television and commercials. In 2012 he finished his first feature film THE TIGER MASK (???????, Taiga Masuku), based on the manga written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji, starring Eiji Wentz. In 2014, his UZUMASA LIMELIGHT (????????, Uzumasa Raimuraito) is released, starring the famous Seizo Fukumoto who is known for his onscreen deaths. The film is awarded the Cheval Noir for both best feature and best actor, at the Montreal Fantasia International Film Festival. Credits World Premiere: August 2, 2015 (Fantasia International Film Festival) Japanese Theatrical Release Date: Saturday, February 20, 2016 Running Time: 81 Minutes Cast Denzo: Dean Fujioka Princess Sachi: Aoi Morikawa Choemon: Sohkoh Wada Takahiro Nakajima Rantaro Mine Staff Director: Ken Ochiai Screenplay: Akihiro Dobashi Executive Producer: Toshihiro Takahashi Producer: Shuhei Akita Associate Producers: Kiwamu Sato, Fumi Teranishi Production Designer: Toshimichi Kurokawa Line Producer: Takakazu Aiba Cinematographer: Chris Freilich Editor: Chieko Suzaki VFX Supervisors: Tadao Mihashi, Ryoji Takai Character Designer: Sei Nakashima Music: Hendrik Willemyns Planning and Production: Shochiku Distributor: Shochiku Co., Ltd. Media Division International Sales: Shochiku Co., Ltd. © 2015 Shochiku Co., Ltd.