Special Thanks to Avery Guerra, Jeff Horne, and G-FEST.
G-FEST’s thirtieth iteration is just under three weeks away! With the schedule being finalized, we at KU wanted to highlight some of the filmmakers that will be in attendance during the G-FEST Film Festival when their hard work is screened in front of kaiju fans flying in from around the globe. Ranging from beloved industry veterans to up-and-coming film students, the passion for creating original stories within the genre oozes off of every single director, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to watch their movies alongside them.
In fact, there’s two that we wanted to highlight in particular: Kiyotaka Taguchi and Takuho Inui.
Kiyotaka Taguchi
Fans of Kaiju and Tokusatsu media should be familiar with the legendary Taguchi-san. Best known for his work on the Ultraman franchise, he has served as the main director for shows such as Ultraman X, Ultraman Orb, Ultraman Z, and Ultraman Blazar. Taguchi is also an accomplished independent filmmaker, with his previous film, Big Beast Bugon, being screened at last year’s G-FEST Film Festival. At that same event, Taguchi confirmed production of a sequel to Bugon, which has since had a crowdfunding campaign to bring an even bigger scale to the follow-up.
This year, Bugon will be screened again as part of a double feature with the North American Premiere of his new and latest film, Featherlon. Bugon was developed to promote tourism to the local hot springs resort & historic movie theatre in Beppu as part of the Beppu Short Film Production Project. Through short films like Bugon, it is the goal to drive tourism and bring people out to visit these historic places again. The film went above and beyond, even staging a practical explosion effect in the lobby of the Suginoi Hotel, one of the most famous hotels in Beppu.
Takuho Inui
Also attending the G-FEST Film Festival this year is student filmmaker Takuho Inui, who has brought his film The Gaze, aka Rokujou Giga, will be screened this year. The mysterious movie stars Kosuke Furukawa, with Tokusatsu/Special Effects by Takuma Hatakeyama. Not much else is known about this film at this time, but we’ll be sure to give it a watch and review it! KU is thrilled that young, emerging talent can be showcased at events like the indie-friendly G-FEST Film Festival, and we’re happy to support these newcomers.
Stay tuned for more updates on the creative filmmakers that will be in attendance at this year’s G-FEST Film Festival on Kaiju United!
