©Courtesy of GKIDS Films

GKIDS Films has dropped a new trailer for a highly anticipated Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest outing, “Look Back.”

Confident grade-schooler Fujino draws comics for her school newspaper, earning the admiration of her classmates. When her artwork is surpassed by her reclusive peer Kyomoto, she becomes obsessed with honing her skills, eventually burning out and giving up drawing altogether. But when Fujino finally meets Kyomoto, she discovers that Kyomoto has been her devoted fan all along. Bound by their shared passion, they spend irreplaceable years drawing manga together until a fateful event changes their lives forever.

With some images lifted directly from the manga and a healthy amount of inspiration from the 2024 animated feature, written and directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama. A press release describes the film as “a love letter to the artistic process, hand-written in ink on paper, and a meditation on how mutual pursuit of a craft creates the deepest etches in our memory.”

From Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Koreeda, “Look Back” is a love letter to the artistic process, hand-written in ink on paper, and a meditation on how mutual pursuit of a craft creates the deepest etches in our memory. Natsuki Deguchi, best known for playing Sumire in “The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House”, is cast as Fujino, while Furi Nanase will play her younger version. Aju Makita, who voiced Kanna in the “Child of Kamiari Month” anime film, will play Kyomoto, with Rokka Okada taking on the role of young Kyomoto.

“Look Back” had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, which was followed by its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and, most recently, its U.K. premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.

The film received warm reviews from critics and the film will be released in select theaters beginning Dec. 30, with a nationwide expansion on Jan. 15, 2027.