Koreeda brings manga Look Back to Toronto for North American premiere

Hirokazu Koreeda has turned Tatsuki Fujimoto's manga Look Back into a live-action film about two schoolgirls who build a shared life around drawing.

Koreeda is credited as both director and screenwriter, and the film is based on Fujimoto's manga, according to Deadline. Manga means Japanese comics, often serialised in magazines before collection in books. The film had its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, according to GKIDS.

The story centres on Fujino, who draws comic strips for the school newspaper. She joins forces with her reclusive classmate Kyomoto. Their joint career is interrupted by tragedy.

It spans more than a decade. The London Film Festival lists it in official competition as a Japanese film and describes it as a tender coming-of-age story following two girls, according to Deadline.

In Toronto, the first screening was listed as Monday, 14 September at the Princess of Wales Theatre. Sales agent Goodfellas is handling the film, according to Deadline. A sales agent is a company that sells a film's cinema rights country by country.

Koreeda told Deadline he first found the book in a bookshop. He was drawn to a cover showing a young person's back while drawing manga at a desk. He bought the book during the pandemic, when his film projects in production had stopped.

He described Look Back as an autobiographical story about two young girls pursuing manga. He said it follows a protagonist who stops drawing after an incident and then regains the courage to return to it. That return gives the title its double meaning, to look at the past and to look over one's shoulder at work left behind.

The festival run has been busy. Deadline published a Venice Film Festival interview with Koreeda about adapting manga and living with ghosts of the past, according to Deadline. Toronto also lists Koreeda for a DIALOGUES event on adaptation with Train to Busan director Yeon Sang-ho. Koreeda is a Palme d'Or winner, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Look Back had previously existed as a 45-minute anime film. Distributor GKIDS lists the new live-action version for a theatrical release in 2026.

What makes this stand out for newcomers is its scale. No capes. No multiverse. Just two desks, two pens, and the long work of learning to keep going after loss.