Hinotama: Ball of Fire, a Debut Feature, Makes Its Festival Rounds

Yaza Takenoshin's debut feature, Hinotama: Ball of Fire, has been shown at two of Asia's big autumn film festivals. Variety reported on 3 November 2026 that the film screened in the Nippon Cinema Now selection at the Tokyo Film Festival.

The film first reached audiences at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea, where it premiered in 2026. Busan had already named it to the Vision Section, one of the festival's showcase strands, in a lineup of 23 films announced in August. Japan Forward covered the premiere in October.

The story follows a boy, young Takeshi, as he watches his parents' marriage come apart. Riku Onishi plays Takeshi. Himena Irei plays Akari, Mari Kusu plays Takeshi's mother, and Koe Odani plays his younger brother, Kento.

Yaza was 24 when the film was made, according to the Busan festival's own programme notes. He is a Harvard graduate, Variety reported, and has said he admires the Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi. The camera work is by Yoshio Kitagawa, who has also worked as a cinematographer for Hamaguchi.

Festivals like Busan and Tokyo matter because they are often the first public stop for a film that has no distributor yet. Sales agents and buyers watch these screenings, and deals made there can decide when, and whether, a film reaches cinemas or streaming services, sometimes a year or more later. No release schedule for Hinotama: Ball of Fire has been announced.

For now, the film's path runs through the festival circuit. Its debut is the first step in a career that has only just begun.