THE JAPAN FOUNDATION TOURING FILM PROGRAMME 2026: Missing Child Videotape
TBC / 12A (FACT only) 104 mins
TBC / 12A (FACT only) 104 mins
© 2024 “Missing Child Videotape” Film Partners
THE JAPAN FOUNDATION TOURING FILM PROGRAMME 2026 Missing Child Videotape ミッシング・チャイルド・ビデオテープ (Missing Child Videotape)
The deeper he searches for his missing brother, the closer he comes to losing himself. KODAMA Keita (SUGITA Rairu) is a quiet, seemingly ordinary young man who avoids talking about his childhood. His relationship with his mother is strained — haunted by the guilt he carries over the mysterious disappearance of his younger brother, Hinata, who vanished without trace in the mountains they once explored together. Now an adult,Keita spends his days volunteering for missing person search missions. One day, Keita receives an unexpected package from his mother. Inside is a VHS tape capturing the exact moment Hinata vanished. His friend and flatmate, AMANO Tsukasa (HIRAI Amon) — a schoolteacher with psychic abilities — senses a dark, lingering presence within the grainy footage and advises Keita not to get too involved. But the past will not stay buried.
Accompanied by Tsukasa and local reporter KASUMI Mikoto (MORITA Kokoro,Sakura, JFTFP25), Keita returns to the mountain. As the trio retraces the steps of that fateful day, they are pulled deeper into a haunting mystery where memory, guilt, and the supernatural intertwine — and where every answer leads to more disturbing questions… Directed by KONDO Ryota in his feature-length debut, and based on his award-winning short film of the same name, Missing Child Videotape is a slow-burn ghost story steeped in classic J-horror atmosphere, with genre legend SHIMIZU Takashi overseeing production. Screenings Tokyo International Film Festival 2024, MOTLEX Lisbon International Horror Film Festival 2025, New York Asian Film Festival 2025, Nippon Connection 2025, SCREENSHOT: Asia Film Festival 2025, SLASH Film Festival 2025
In collaboration with the Japan Foundation
Supported by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation
Sponsors in Kind: SUQQU, Athletia, Clearspring, Pentel, Calbee