. Kore-eda also served as showrunner, director and writer on the nine-episode series, and brought on board three up-and-coming filmmakers – Megumi Tsuno, Hiroshi Okuyama and Takuma Sato – to co-write and direct individual episodes.
“It was also an interesting setting, taking place in another world that is separated from the modern era by just a single street,” Kore-eda adds. “I thought it was a perfect setting for a story set in Kyoto, focused on food and a group of people living together under the same roof.” Last year, he called for Japan to establish a body like France’s CNC or the Korean Film Council , that are involved in funding as well as support programmes for emerging talent. In his conversation with, he observes that Korea has both those elements that are missing in Japan – funding and internationally-minded producers – in spades: “But while I got a lot of insights, just transplanting them to Japan won’t work.