LOVE ON TRIAL © 2025 "LOVE ON TRIAL" Film Partners
Renai Saiban (Love on Trial), or undying love, by Kōji Fukada
After his last selection in Cannes (2020) for the romantic compilation film Honki no shirushi: Gekijōban (The Real Thing), Japanese filmmaker Kōji Fukada returns to the theme of thwarted love with Renai Saiban (Love on Trial). Presented at Cannes Première, the film tells the story of a young couple having to defend their love in court.
A man and a woman sentenced for falling in love? This is the intriguing premise of the new feature film by Kōji Fukada, director of Love Life in 2022. We meet Mai, a rising young pop star who breaks one of the rules in her contract stipulating that she cannot fall in love. The repercussions of this seemingly innocent act lead to the young woman being dragged to court by her own agency for breach of contract. In this battle, Mai can only count on her lover, and both are determined to fight for their right to love.
The lead female role is played by Erika Karata, who has already appeared in Competition at Cannes in Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Netemo sametemo (Asako I & II) in 2018. Her partner is portrayed by the actor Yuki Kura, known from the series Shōgun (2024).
This marks Kōji Fukada’s third selection at Cannes, after the psychological family thriller Fuchi ni Tatsu (Harmonium), presented in Un Certain Regard at the 69th Festival de Cannes and Winner of the Jury Prize. In 2020, Fukada joined the select group of filmmakers who received the Cannes label that year, in light of the Festival’s cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for his compilation romance Honki no shirushi: Gekijōban (The Real Thing).