London – Global independent studio Entertainment One (eOne) secured the worldwide distribution rights to the mini-series Tokyo Trial, depicting the post-WWII trial of Pacific War Criminals by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. The series has been nominated for Best TV Movie or Mini-series in the highly prestigious International Emmy Awards. The awards recognize excellence in television produced outside of the United States, with broadcasters and producers from over 18 countries. The winner will be announced in New York on November 20, 2017
Tokyo Trial is a four-part historical drama recreating the trial that began in 1946, combining authentic trial footage with dramatic enactments based on true events. Immediately following WWII, 11 judges from allied nations were called to Tokyo to engage in a landmark trial that would determine the outcome for 28 Pacific military and political leaders who were charged as War Criminals. This story follows the two-and-a-half-year struggle between the judges as they take on the unprecedented task of finding verdicts for each of the accused, while balancing political, professional and personal conflicts with their cultural differences and fair justice.
The compelling series stars Tim Ahern (Lilyhammer), Paul Freeman (Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark), Serge Hazanavicius (The Monuments Men), Marcel Hensema (The Marathon, Simon), William Hope, Jonathan Hyde (The Strain, Titanic, Jumanji), Michael Ironside (Terminator Salvation, Total Recall, Top Gun), Bert Matias (Fred Claus), Stephen McHattie (Watchmen, 300), Hadewych Minis (Borgman), David Tse (The Grid), Julian Wadham (The English Patient), and Irrfan Khan (Jurassic World, Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire).
Based on the original idea by NHK, the limited series was co-directed by Pieter Verhoeff (The Moving True Story of a Woman Ahead of Her Time) and Rob W. King (Something More, Hungry Hills). Script was written by Kees Van Beijnum, Rob W. King, Max Mannix and Toru Takagi. Cinematography by Rolf Dekens (Secrets of War, Code M). Production design by Harry Ammerlan (Antonia’s Line, Love Is All) and Naoji Kawaguchi of NHK. Costume design by Brenda Shenher (Between, Corner Gas, Strained). Music composed by Rob Carli (Murdoch Mysteries, Cracked) with additional music composed by Nobuyuki Nakajima (Yae no Sakura). Editing by Daryl Davis (Surveillance, Dolan’s Cadillac).
Tokyo Trial is available as a four part mini-series and as a 105 minute feature film. The feature began its festival tour with a red-carpet premiere at the Netherlands Film Festival earlier this week. Tokyo Trial is produced by Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK of Japan), FATT (Netherlands) and Don Carmody Television (DCTV) (Canada) in association with Netflix. Shinsuke Naito and Takashi Enjo (NHK), Hans De Weers (FATT), and Don Carmody and David Cormican (DCTV) serve as Executive Producers for the program. Originally commissioned by NHK in Japan and Netflix globally the miniseries launched last year.
