Japan’s Cloud11 Studios, France’s Les films du Sillon and Hong Kong’s 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‘s Marché du Film.
The partnership brings together producers from Japan, France and Sakha, a republic of Russia that is also known as Yakutia, around what is being described as “an intimate, character-driven road movie” that is currently in development and positioned as an international arthouse feature with cross-cultural reach. A completed script and production are targeted for 2027.
Burnashev has become a key voice of Sakha’s film scene with his previous features Aita, Our Winter, Black Snow and The Penthouse.
Set in Japan, Almost There follows “an 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,” according to a description of the project. “Both 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 – and the very reasons that brought them there start to shift.”
The project, designed to combine “cultural specificity with universal resonance,” explores such themes as memory and isolation. Burnashev also said that the film would dive into “male vulnerability, inner conflict and what often remains unspoken.”
Hiroyuki Yoshihara, Stepan Burnashev and Emmanuelle Faucilhon, courtesy of Saidam Baryl.
To 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 “almost meditative quality,” according to the producers. “Rather than pushing toward heaviness, the film approaches its characters with openness and compassion, allowing intimacy and human connection to emerge gradually.”
The producers are Hiroyuki Yoshihara for Cloud11 Studios, Emmanuelle Faucilhon for Les films du Sillon and Burnashev’s Saidam Baryl. They are currently focused on further development and financing on Almost There.
“Almost There is a restrained yet emotionally intense male drama,” Burnashev said. “It’s 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 – 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.”
Yoshihara said about the project: “What 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.”
Faucilhon shared: “We were struck by the film’s 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’s determination to keep creating whilst forces of destruction are at work.”
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