International collaboration holds significant promise for the Philippine film industry to enter the global market, following the success of Nathan Studios over the past three years. Now, they are co-producing the Japanese art film “Renoir,” which is part of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, over the weekend.

“Renoir” is a collaboration among Japan's Happinet Studios, France’s Ici et Là Productions, Singapore’s Akanga Film Asia, Indonesia’s Kawan Kawan Media, and The Philippines’ Daluyong Studio and Nathan Studios. Goodfellas are handling international sales.

Filipino actress and producer Sylvia Sanchez-Atayde, the chief executive of Nathan Studios, expressed gratitude for having co-produced the film, as it allowed the company to explore international partnerships and the international market. Additionally, it provided another red-carpet appearance at the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.

“This international collaboration creates a massive positive impact on the Filipino film industry; it also gives a lot of hope to Filipino film producers to go to the global market, especially here in Cannes,” Sanchez-Atayde said.

“Malaking impact ito, the mere fact na three years pa lang kami nagpupunta sa Cannes as a producer, isa na kami sa naka pag partnership sa international productions at nakapag-red carpet Muli dito sa Cannes,” she added. “I am hoping for more Filipino film producers to enter the global stage whether it is solo or collaboration with other foreign producers.”

Two of Nathan Studio’s earlier movies — psychological thriller Cattleya Killer in 2022 and action flick Topakk in 2023 — also premiered in the Cannes Film Festivals that starred both by veteran actor Quezon City first district re elected Congressman Juan Carlos “Arjo” Atayde which gained the attention of international film buyers, film aficionados, and distributors for the last three years.

Sanchez-Atayde, who celebrated her birthday in a European country, also said that she is "ecstatic" that the “Renoir” film is part of the main competition of Cannes.

“I’m still in disbelief and absolutely ecstatic that Renoir (directed by Chie Hayakawa, and co-produced with Eiko Mizuno Gray and Jason Gray, Christophe Bruncher, Yulia Evina Bhara, and Alemberg Ang) was selected as part of the 2025 Cannes competition slate,” Sanchez explained.

“When we were starting out with Nathan Studios, this was only something we dreamt of and aimed for—and now, it is finally here. All the hard work, determination, belief, and prayers have borne fruit!" she added.

A coming-of-age drama that depicts a daughter coping with her father's illness is making waves at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, with a potential shot at winning the highly coveted Palme d'Or or Grand Prize.

“Renoir,” an art film directed by noted Japanese auteur Chie Hayakawa (Plan 75), tells the story of Fuki, whose father is fighting a terminal illness and a mother being stressed out from caring for him. She later becomes fascinated with telepathy and leads herself into her fantasy world.

The art film is a multinational production featuring collaborations from Japan, France, Qatar, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with Nathan Studios co-financing the project. It was already released and shown at the Cannes Film Festival on the red carpet on May 17.

It will be released in Japan on June 20.

The film stars newcomer Yui Suzuki as the 11-year-old Fuki, alongside Hikari Ishida and Lily Franky.

‘Glowing reviews’

Reviews for the film are glowing, with Deadline's Stephanie Bunbury noting that, although the film is scattered, it does not detract from the film’s beauty or the strength of the performances.

"If this story doesn’t coalesce as seamlessly as her first film does, it still has the power to touch and then to haunt us. It does not take a fortune teller to predict that Chie Hayakawa will soon make her masterpiece," Bunbury noted in her review.

Writing for Variety, Jessica Kiang said that Hayakawa's film is a "slender but appealingly impressionistic story of an inquisitive young girl's summer of life, death and amateur parapsychology,"

““Renoir” is a more diffuse yet in some ways more interesting sophomore feature, that follows where its lovely, mercurial central character leads and, taking a cue from the painter of the (rather tangential) title, lets the brushstrokes show to deliver a firsthand impression of growing up in 1980s Japan.," Kiang added.

The Hollywood Reporter's Lovia Gyarkye, on the other hand, said the movie is a "poetic meditation" on a crucial summer of Fuki as she navigated her father's battle with cancer, her mother's ambient stress, and persistent loneliness.

"Part of the reason Renoir, despite its modesty, is emotionally affected by Suzuki’s compelling performance. The newcomer has a wide-eyed, penetrating stare that conveys, at once, the reality of Fuki’s innocence and the depth of her curiosity. In the hands of the actress, the character becomes someone you come to feel deeply protective of, " Gyarkye noted.