Look Back Live-Action Film Enters Venice Film Festival Competition
Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Look Back live-action adaptation will make its world premiere in the Venice Film Festival’s main competition.
BYKamalikaa
25 JUL 2026, 05:21 PM
Highlights
- Look Backlive-action adaptation has been selected for the competition section at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival.
- Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, the film marks the filmmaker’s return to Venice’s competition lineup after seven years.
- Look Back is adapted from Chainsaw Man-famed mangaka Tatsuki Fujimoto’s acclaimed one-shot manga of the same name.
K2 Pictures confirmed on July 23 that the Look Backlive-action film has been selected for the competition section of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. The film will compete for the Golden Lion prize at the festival, running Sep 2-12, 2026, in Venice, Italy.
Look Back is adapted from renowned manga artist Tatsuki Fujimoto’s one-shot manga, released in 2021. The manga already has an anime film adaptation, which also premiered at Annecy International Film Festival in June 2024.
Veteran Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda has helmed the live-action adaptation. Look Back will mark Kore-eda’s fourth Venice competition selection and his first in seven years, after The Truth in 2019. His 1995 directorial debut, Maborosi, bagged the Golden Osella at the Venice Film Festival that year.
K2 Pictures confirmed that the Look Backlive-action film’s lead actors, Natsuki Deguchi and Aya Makita, will attend the festival with Kore-eda. The latest selection marks the first Japanese film at the Venice competition lineup in the past three years, following Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist. It won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize in 2023.
What We Know About the Look Back Live-Action Adaptation
TheLook Backlive-action adaptation, which was first announced in early December 2025, follows its anime adaptation. Studio Durian and director Kiyotaka Oshiyama turned Fujimoto’s one-shot into an animated film in 2024, which grossed roughly $12.7 million USD worldwide.
Look Backis a story of two girls forming a creative partnership through shared love for manga creation, which eventually results in separation. The narrative follows Fujino, an outgoing grade-schooler celebrated for her comics in the class newspaper, and Kyomoto, a classmate whose artwork surpasses hers.
The manga’s themes, blending friendship and ambition, with the creative and mental toll of manga creators, generated universal acclaim.
The Look Backmanga has become one of Fujimoto’s most celebrated works outside Chainsaw Man, with 1M physical copies in circulation, as of 2026. Shueisha is running a free campaign for Fujimoto’s original Look Back manga on Shonen Jump+ from July 24 to 31, timed to the Venice news.
Look Back will be released across Japanese theaters on Sep 11, 2026. GKIDS announced previously that it will bring the movie to North America, Ireland, and the UK, following the premiere in Japan. Riding on the manga and anime film’s popularity, the live-action Look Backfilm is also confirmed to release across Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Kamalikaa
Kamalikaa Biswas is a content writer at Outlook Respawn specializing in pop culture. She holds a Master’s in English Literature from University of Delhi and leverages her media industry experience to deliver insightful content on the latest youth culture trends.
Kamalikaa
Kamalikaa Biswas is a content writer at Outlook Respawn specializing in pop culture. She holds a Master’s in English Literature from University of Delhi and leverages her media industry experience to deliver insightful content on the latest youth culture trends.
Published At: 25 JUL 2026, 05:21 PM
Tags:Anime
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