{"id":488282,"date":"2026-05-16T21:28:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T21:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/488282\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T21:28:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T21:28:10","slug":"cannes-male-drama-almost-there-from-sakha-director-finds-partners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/488282\/","title":{"rendered":"Cannes: Male Drama ‘Almost There’ From Sakha Director Finds Partners"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tJapan\u2019s Cloud11 Studios, France\u2019s Les films du Sillon and Hong Kong\u2019s Saidam Baryl Ltd. have joined forces on Almost There, a new feature project from Sakha filmmaker Stepan Burnashev. The collaboration was unveiled on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival<\/a>\u2018s March\u00e9 du Film<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe partnership brings together producers from Japan, France and Sakha, a republic of Russia<\/a> that is also known as Yakutia, around what is being described as \u201can intimate, character-driven road movie\u201d that is currently in development and positioned as an international<\/a> arthouse feature with cross-cultural reach. A completed script and production are targeted for 2027.<\/p>\n

\n\tBurnashev has become a key voice of Sakha\u2019s film scene with his previous features\u00a0Aita,\u00a0Our Winter,\u00a0Black Snow\u00a0and\u00a0The Penthouse.<\/p>\n

\n\tSet in Japan,\u00a0Almost There\u00a0follows \u201can unexpected encounter between a Japanese man and a man from the Sakha Republic who, despite their vastly different backgrounds, find themselves in a similar emotional state,\u201d according to a description of the project. \u201cBoth are unable to let go of their past and set out on a journey toward a place where they hope to finally confront it. Their chance meeting gradually evolves into a shared journey, as emotional distance gives way to an increasingly profound human connection. As they move closer to their destination, the journey itself begins to change them \u2013 and the very reasons that brought them there start to shift.\u201d <\/p>\n

The project, designed to combine \u201ccultural specificity with universal resonance,\u201d explores such themes as memory and isolation. Burnashev also said that the film would dive into \u201cmale vulnerability, inner conflict and what often remains unspoken.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tHiroyuki Yoshihara, Stepan Burnashev and Emmanuelle Faucilhon, courtesy of Saidam Baryl.<\/p>\n

\n\tTo provide lightness and humor, the movie is set to also feature cultural misunderstandings and comedic moments, while the Japanese landscapes are set to add an \u201calmost meditative quality,\u201d according to the producers. \u201cRather than pushing toward heaviness, the film approaches its characters with openness and compassion, allowing intimacy and human connection to emerge gradually.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe producers are Hiroyuki Yoshihara for Cloud11 Studios, Emmanuelle Faucilhon for Les films du Sillon and Burnashev\u2019s Saidam Baryl. They are currently focused on further development and financing on\u00a0Almost There.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAlmost There\u00a0is a restrained yet emotionally intense male drama,\u201d Burnashev said. \u201cIt\u2019s a story about two men who seem very different on the surface, but are both carrying something they have never really learned how to express. They come from entirely different worlds, yet share a sense of isolation and unspoken inner conflict that allows them to recognize each other beyond language or culture. As their journey unfolds, they begin to understand one another on a deeply human level \u2013 a connection that transcends borders and gives the film a universal resonance. One hides himself behind movement, confidence and the habit of always going forward, while the other lives with silence, hesitation and the weight of unresolved things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYoshihara said about the project: \u201cWhat drew us in was its confidence. The film does not try to overstate itself. It trusts rhythm, character and silence, and that gives it a strong cinematic identity. We believe that kind of precision can travel internationally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFaucilhon shared: \u201cWe were struck by the film\u2019s emotional precision and its quiet strength. As the war [by Russia in Ukraine] rages on, Sakha culture is increasingly reaching beyond its borders and building new connections with the East. One can only applaud the director\u2019s determination to keep creating whilst forces of destruction are at work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Japan\u2019s Cloud11 Studios, France\u2019s Les films du Sillon and Hong Kong\u2019s Saidam Baryl Ltd. have joined forces on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":488283,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[263],"tags":[190863,18,117,19,1452,17,196447,327],"class_list":{"0":"post-488282","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-cannes-2026","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-international","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-marche-du-film","15":"tag-movies"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}