Cross-Border LGBTQ+ Drama ‘Polaris’ Debuts at Tokyo Gap-Financing Market

A new Japanese-Taiwanese co-production is seeking financing at the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market, bringing together voices from across borders to tell an intimate story set in Tokyo’s LGBTQ+ hub.

“Polaris,” directed by Seta Natsuki and produced by Twenty First City in partnership with Taiwan’s Volos Films, unfolds over one winter night at a bar in Ni-chome. Based on the novel “The Night of the Shining North Star” by Li Kotomi, the film centers on women of different ages, nationalities and sexualities who gather in the titular establishment, sharing drinks, laughter and fragments of their lives under soft blue light. As their stories intersect like stars in a constellation, the film explores themes of self-identity and human connection before the women part ways at dawn.

For Seta, the project represents a meditation on authenticity and understanding. “This film is a reflection on what it means to be yourself and how hard it can be to understand one another,” the director says. “It’s also about how we define our sense of self. How we categorize ourselves and others – or choose not to. And how we can begin to rethink what we once thought of as ‘normal’.”

The production has faced unique challenges in adapting Li Kotomi’s source material, which comprises seven interconnected short stories spanning different times and places. “One of the major challenges has been finding a way to weave them into a single film,” Seta notes. The team is conducting extensive research and interviews in Japan and Taiwan to inform their exploration of sexuality and gender issues central to the narrative.

For producer Kawashima Shoichiro, “Polaris” marks a significant departure for Twenty First City, which has served as a local production partner for Hollywood and European shoots in Japan since the 1990s. “This is the first time we are developing a film project from the beginning ourselves,” Kawashima says. The company gained momentum through participation at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest.

“This is a cross-border story with characters of diverse nationalities,” Kawashima explains of their Tokyo market objectives. “We want the film to resonate widely, so we hope to receive feedback from as many people as possible. It would be ideal to meet partners who share our vision and are willing to support us in bringing the project to completion.”

The production is eyeing a winter 2026 shoot, with Seta and screenwriter Kyoko Inukai continuing script development. Casting is slated to begin later this year as the team actively pursues investors, distribution partners and world sales.

Seta’s directorial interests extend beyond this project to exploring how small moments can shift perspectives on everyday life and society, with a particular focus on the complexity of human understanding – themes that appear central to “Polaris” itself.