Netherlands- and China-based sales agency Fortissimo Films has picked up worldwide rights to “Sexual Drive,” which has its world premiere on Thursday at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Directed by Yoshida Kota, the film is a triptych about sex, aphrodisiac foods and secret desires.
The story tracks three people; a designer in a sexless marriage, a stricken office worker preparing to reenter the workplace, and an ad executive who wants to break off his existing relationship. In each segment a shabby man appears and reveals a challenging secret that may reinvigorate their love lives.
The film also borders on the food porn genre with the plentiful use of sensual close-ups of the characters eating and relishing their favorite dishes: Natto, Mapo and Ramen. Fortissimo pitches “Sexual Drive” as: “an erotic film with no explicit sex scenes and an amusing film about the best things in life.”
The cast is headed by Hashimoto Manami, Ikeda Ryo, Sato Honami, Nakamura Mukau, Takeda Rina, Shogen, Nishina Takashi and Serizawa Tateto.
The rights deal was negotiated between Fortissimo, Yoshida, producer Goto Tsuyoshi and the film’s international liaison Toshiyuki Hasegawa. After bowing in Rotterdam’s Big Screen Competition, the film will next play at Berlin’s European FilmMarket in March.
Yoshida is an alumnus of Enbu Seminar, the acting school that produced 2017 smash hit horror film “One Cut of the Dead.” As director, Yoshida previously appeared in Rotterdam with 2012 short film “Kyojima 3rd St., Sumida City.” His feature filmography includes: “Come As You Are,” “The Torture Club” and 2018 “Love Disease.”