Golden Horse Film Festival 2026: Six Major Japanese Films Announced, Directors and Cast Confirmed to Attend

The 2026 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (63rd edition) has announced six headline Japanese films for its international showcase, running November 6 (Friday) to November 22 (Sunday) in Taipei. Directors Kōji Fukada, Nanako Hirose, Miwa Nishikawa and Taichi Kimura, along with actors Yuki Katayama and MEGUMI, are confirmed to attend in person. The lineup features new work from stars including Takako Matsu, Yu Aoi, Masami Nagasawa, Shizuka Ishibashi and Yu Emoto.

The six selected Japanese films

• Nagi Notes — Kōji Fukada's first film in Cannes' main competition, starring Takako Matsu, Shizuka Ishibashi and Kenichi Matsuyama in a story set in rural Okayama, moving between art, old flames and unfinished lives. The closing song, sung in Taiwanese, was composed by Taiwanese musician Pei Pei and performed by Enno Cheng. Attending: director Kōji Fukada.
• Between Two Lovers — A new film from Nanako Hirose, a protégé of Hirokazu Kore-eda, shot with two-time Golden Horse Best Cinematography winner Yao Hung-i and starring Masami Nagasawa, Shizuka Ishibashi and Yu Emoto, probing the limits and flexibility of intimacy. Attending: director Nanako Hirose.
• Children Untold — Miwa Nishikawa turns her lens on postwar Japan; newcomer Kimi Koyae plays an orphaned girl who disguises herself as a boy to survive, with Fumi Nikaidō (of Evil Does Not Exist) as a teacher whose life intersects with hers, plus Koji Yakusho, Toma Ikuta and Junichi Okada. Attending: director Miwa Nishikawa.
• Fujiko — A new work from cross-media director Taichi Kimura, led by newcomer Yuki Katayama, produced and co-starring MEGUMI (of the Bad Family Love series), a wildly paced portrait of a single mother refusing to bow to fate against a Showa-era backdrop. Attending: director Taichi Kimura, actors Yuki Katayama and MEGUMI.
• In My Father's Room — Novelist Maha Harada writes and directs, with Yu Aoi returning to her late father's room via a mysterious key, co-starring Eita Nagayama and Issei Ogata.
• Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People? — Cult Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto continues the wartime gaze of Fires on the Plain and Killing, adapting the real experiences of a Black American Vietnam War veteran; selected for Venice's main competition.

Festival schedule

• 63rd Golden Horse Awards nominations announced: October 1
• Golden Horse Film Academy: October 19 – November 22
• Golden Horse International Film Festival: November 6 – November 22
• Golden Horse Film Project Promotion: November 17 – November 19
• 63rd Golden Horse Awards: November 22 (Sunday), red carpet at 17:00, ceremony at 18:30

What we don't know yet

Screening venues, individual showtimes and ticket pricing have not yet been announced by the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee. Further details are expected via the festival's official Instagram account.