EXCLUSIVE: Japanese production and sales company Rights Cube Japan is teaming with Canada’s Federgreen Entertainment and Sine Media Inc on a horror action slate written and directed by rising cult filmmaker Kenichi Ugana.
Ugana’s latest film, The Gesuidouz, screened at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and Sitges Film Festival in Spain. The film, about a horror-themed punk rock band that moves to the Japanese countryside to the write the ultimate hit, won best feature at London International Fantastic Film Festival, as well as the Audience Award at the Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinema.
The three partners for Ugana’s new slate all have backgrounds in high-concept genre filmmaking. Rights Cube’s previous work includes action comedies Baby Assassins and Baby Assassins 2, about two teenage female contract killers Kensuke Sonomura’s Ghostkiller.
Canadian producer Avi Federgreen’s credits include cult hits such as Deathstalker, For The Sake Of Vicious and Lifechanger. Michaelangelo Masangkay, Toronto-based founder of Sine Media, previously spent 12 years specialising in genre at Raven Banner Entertainment. He was also recently a producer on Philippine action film Topakk (Triggered), directed by Richard Somes and starring Arjo Atayde, which received a theatrical release in the U.S. and Canada.
Ugana, known for his visceral horror and visual storytelling, also has credits including Visitors-Complete Edition (2021), Love Will Tear Us Apart (2023) and Extraneous Matter-Complete Edition (2021), which have been screened at festivals including the Torino Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, Porto International Film Festival and Slamdance Film Festival.
Details of the first projects on the new slate, which will make use of the Canada-Japan co-production agreement, will be released shortly. The three companies will bring together their combined networks and market experience to develop a global release strategy, with international sales and distribution positioned as a key feature of the slate’s rollout.
Ugana commented: “This is the moment I’ve been waiting for – to unleash a wild, cinematic beast with an international team that truly gets genre filmmaking. Expect the unexpected. We’re not just making a film – we’re creating an experience you’ll want to relive again and again.”
Federgreen said: “I’ve been a huge fan of Kenichi’s and Rights Cube for many years, and I think this first-ever genre action coproduction will be something to be remembered for a very long time.”
Masangkay said: “I’m extremely excited to bring a unique blend of horror and action in a coproduction between our two countries. Kenichi’s work is singular, stylish, and thrilling — we can’t wait to introduce these films to a global audience.”
Yusuke Suzuki, Executive Producer at Rights Cube, added: “We will be making a movie never seen before with this tremendously talented global people. Be ready.”
The deal between the three partners was signed over Sake Hundred and CityPop music from DJ Mademoiselle Yulia in the lobby of Hotel Martinez this weekend in Cannes.
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