Leopard Spots
Single mother Lilly grapples to keep her daughter close in a bittersweet tale of failed redemption.
Single mother Lilly moves back to her family home in a small factory town in Nara, Japan, along with her teenage daughter Riko. Struggling with past events and family traumas, Lilly starts to unravel, ripping apart the relationships around her and pushing her daughter Riko away through dark and twisted actions. Lilly evolves through this intergenerational trauma, but at what cost? Leopard Spots is a bittersweet tale of failed redemption.
Director's note
I was lucky enough to win the Golden Shika Award at Naomi Kawase's Nara International Film Festival, which led to us collaborating on my new film Leopard Spots.
And so I set out to create something that felt different from what we usually see in traditional Japanese drama. With Naomi's backing, I knew I could achieve something believably Japanese and authentic. Therefore, I was able to play with the film's themes in a more adventurous and mischievous way.
The film is narratively based on my own intergenerational family trauma, and the main character, Lilly (or Yuri in Japanese), finds herself engaging in curious transgressions as she navigates her relationship with her daughter Riko.
The film is set in a factory town in Nara, the second-smallest town in all of Japan. Lilly finds herself moving back to her family home from Tokyo to work at an udon noodle factory, where she also meets an old flame.
Things become more twisted as Yuri makes mistake after mistake, including seducing her daughter's boyfriend in an attempt to keep her close to home.
It was a really fun project to work on, and our star Megumi pulled out all the stops and let me push the boat out to make something I think is very special.
Screenwriter's note
I really enjoy working from a place of experience, very specifically around human emotional metamorphosis. This is the core of the story, something human. Everything wrapping around those core emotional character arcs and experiences can be anything one dreams up. In our case, it's a blue-collar factory town in Japan. But the core story is something simpler: a mother's struggle with letting go.
Biography
Joshua Trigg is a Welsh writer-director and founder of Geronimo Boy Film who began making films aged five. After 15 years in Asia on commercials for Nike, Paul Smith and Singapore Airlines, he wrote and directed his 16mm, Laos-set debut feature Satu – Year of the Rabbit. It screened at 50+ festivals, earned BAFTA, BIFA and UNESCO Peace Prize nominations and won the Grand Prix at Nara International Film Festival, leading Naomi Kawase to invite him to direct Leopard Spots through NARAtive.
Producer's note
I came to Leopard Spots through Joshua Trigg's debut, Satu – Year of the Rabbit. I saw a filmmaker working with real emotional honesty and a striking visual eye. I reached out to Josh and offered support with any future projects. He shared the script of Leopard Spots with me, and the story stayed with me personally.
The finance reflects that partnership. In Japan, Nara International Film Festival's NARAtive programme, Nara Prefecture and Ando Town backed the film, and the town opened its homes, streets and udon factory to us. In Wales, Ffilm Cymru Wales came on as our cornerstone UK investor, alongside private investors.
We shot on 16mm across three weeks in Ando this summer, and post-production is under way in the UK. The film will be completed by the start of 2027, ready for its festival premiere.
Biography
Toby Cameron is a senior producer and founder of On Par Productions. An RTS Cymru Breakthrough Award winner, he has produced BAFTA Cymru Award-winning films and TV series, plus commercials and branded content. His debut fiction feature, a Japan–Wales co-production, is in post, with a feature doc in funded development with Ffilm Cymru Wales. He is currently part of EAVE and Ffilm Cymru’s Future Producers, and an alumnus of Sheffield DocFest Future Producers and BFI Doc Society RISE.