Look Back
Southeast Asian Premiere
Hirokazu Koreeda Japan 2026 100 min PG (Brief Nudity)
Fujino draws to be seen, while Kyomoto draws to hide. Together they make manga, and discover what art can and cannot hold.
Outgoing and sure of her gift, Fujino is the star of her elementary school paper—her four-panel comics bring great delight to her classmates. One day Kyomoto, a shut-in, gets a comic slot as well, and Fujino realises that Kyomoto’s drawings are far beyond anything she can achieve. Envy hardens into obsession; though no matter how hard Fujino tries, she is unable to reach Kyomoto’s level.
When the two girls finally meet, their rivalry turns into something rarer: a friendship that blossoms as their manga journeys take flight. Yet when the chance to create a serial arrives, it pulls them in different directions. What becomes of a friendship built on the page?
Adapted from Tatsuki Fujimoto’s acclaimed one-shot manga, Look Back returns Hirokazu Koreeda to the register he knows best: children observed at close range, over time, with patience rather than sentiment. Trading animation’s stylisation for his signature naturalism, he lets the two protagonists simply grow up on camera, in the intimacy of 35mm film.
Synopsis Writer: Monica Gyamlani
Horizon, Special Presentation, Q&A
24 Oct, Sat 7:00PM / 100 min
Golden Village VivoCity
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Look Back
ルックバック
Hirokazu Koreeda
Japan
2026
Japanese
English
100 min
PG (Brief Nudity)
Southeast Asian Premiere
Hirokazu Kore-eda
Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda is known for his intimate family dramas including Nobody Knows (2004), Like Father, Like Son (2013) and Monster (2023), many of which have garnered awards internationally. Notably, Shoplifters (2018) won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Look Back competed for the Golden Lion at Venice.
Natsuki Deguchi,
Aju Makita,
Furi Nanase
Daiju Koide