Source: Toho Co., Ltd. Official Site: hitsuji-hagane-movie.com (Japan)

A SCIFI JAPAN EXCLUSIVE

Toho Co., Ltd. has provided press notes and high-res photos from their new movie, THE FOREST OF WOOL AND STEEL (?????, Hitsuji to Hagane no Mori), based on the novel of the same name by Natsu Miyashita. Winner of the National Booksellers Award in 2016, The Forest of Wool and Steel is a novel that captured the hearts of Japanese readers, selling half a million copies on its way to masterpiece status. And now, efforts are underway to turn it into a high-quality, live action feature film capable of earning film awards on its own merits, thanks to an all-star cast and crew and a breathtakingly beautiful score. While staying true to the world view that made the original work so popular, the movie seeks to tell an honest coming-of-age story in lush, mellifluous texture, centering on a young man, Naoki Tomura, who aspires to become a piano tuner, and is guided by various mentors and the travails of two piano-playing sisters. His path, however, is littered with obstacles of various kinds, causing him to lose his way, struggle with himself and soldier on in fits and starts. In order to sufficiently depict both the inner journey of the protagonist and ineffable beauty of music, the production felt it necessary to assemble artists known for their emotional expression and aesthetic vision. The film is directed by Kojiro Hashimoto, who scored a massive hit with his emotionally-rich profile of high school teens in ORANGE (orange-????- , Orenji, 2015), while Arisa Kaneko, who penned the hit television novella It`s not that I can`t marry. I don`t marry. (? ????????????, ??????, Watashi Kekkon Dekinainjanakute, Shinain Desu, 2016) has been tapped to write the screenplay. This creative pairing is capable of sculpting a heartwarming drama that should satisfy lovers of the book and appeal to people of all ages. Audiences enter into a world with which they are largely unfamiliar; that of the professional piano tuner, a craft that deals specifically in subtle distinctions of tonal quality, resonance and timbre. The film’s music plays a central role as theme and central character, thereby requiring the collaboration of the most skilled pianists and musical practitioners in the industry.

STORY Naoki Tomura (Kento Yamazaki) sees a piano being tuned at his high school gymnasium and is moved by the workmanship of the piano tuner Soichiro Itadori (Tomokazu Miura). Tomura is astounded by the “smell of the forest” that Itadori`s piano sound evokes and decides that he also wants to be a piano tuner. Eventually he graduates from a technical college and gets a job at the music store where Itadori works. He begins to learn his craft under the more experienced Shinji Yanagi (Ryohei Suzuki). Tomura meets two very talented piano-playing sisters, Kazune (Mone Kamishiraishi) and Yuni (Moka Kamishiraishi). He finds himself more instinctively drawn to Kazune’s music. Eventually, Tomura develops the skills to make the tuning rounds solo, including for the two sisters. One day, Yuni is suddenly unable to play the piano. Tomura begins to torture himself as a failure of a piano tuner, believing that he has subconsciously tuned the piano more to Kazune’s liking...

CREDITS Japanese Theatrical Release: June 8, 2018 (Nationwide Roadshow) Running Time: 133 Minutes Cast Naoki Tomura: Kento Yamazaki Soichiro Itadori: Tomokazu Miura Shinji Yanagi: Ryohei Suzuki Kazune Sakura: Mone Kamishiraishi Yuni Sakura: Moka Kamishiraishi Mizuki Kitakawa: Keiko Horiuchi Eri Hamano: Riisa Naka Masato Kamijyo: Yuu Shirota Takashi Minami: Yuki Morinaga Masaki Tomura: Hayato Sano Tadashi Akino: Ken Mitsuishi Kiyo Tomura: Kazuko Yoshiyuki Staff Director: Kojiro Hashimoto Original Story: The Forest of Wool and Steel by Natsu Miyashita Screenplay: Arisa Kaneko Producers: Akihiro Yamauchi, Yusuke Ishiguro, Yasushi Hashimoto Cinematographer: Kosuke Yamada Sound Recording: Shinichi Toyoda Editor: Ryuichi Takita Music: Hiroko Sebu Ending Theme: "The Dream of the Lambs" by Joe Hisaishi × Nobuyuki Tsujii (AVEX CLASSICS INTERNATIONAL) Production Company: “The Forest of Wool and Steel” Film Partners (Toho, NTV, Hakuhodo, THe Asahi Shimbun Company, Mainichi Newspapers, KDDI, Hankyu Travel International, Bungei Shunju, Tohan, Gyao, Jiji Press, Chunichi Shimbun, Yamaha) Production Studio: Toho Pictures Distributor: Toho World Sales: Toho © 2018 “The Forest of Wool and Steel” Film Partners. All Rights Reserved.

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About Toho Company. Ltd.

Founded in 1932, Toho Co., Ltd. is one of the leading entertainment conglomerates in Japan. Toho is best known worldwide as the producer of the Godzilla films, as well as most of the films by the world-renowned director, Akira Kurosawa. Besides film production, Toho also distributes Japanese films (earning the highest box office receipts for decades in Japan) as well as foreign films through its subsidiary, owns first class movie theaters throughout Japan, produces legitimate plays and musicals, and has more than 100 entertainment-related subsidiaries.