Feature Film "OUT" | Cast & Crew Interview 001 | Nicholas R. Zabaly (Writer / Producer)

Описание: 🇺🇸 Crowdfunding Campaign Now Live on Kickstarter.com !
➡️https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
🎬OUT - Japan-US Hikikomori / LGBTQIA+ Dramatic Thriller
💡Can a shut-in save a friend and become the hero they're meant to be in 24 hours?

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🎙️Feature Film "OUT" (2026) Cast & Crew Interview 001
🔥Writer / Producer
🇺🇸Nicholas R. Zabaly

Nicholas shares his creative process on this project and his collaboration with Masashi, explaining how he wove his own personal experiences into this fast-paced psychological thriller. He reflects on how the writing process became a cross-cultural dialogue between Tokyo and Los Angeles — balancing emotional realism with cinematic tension — and how the film ultimately became a mirror for both of their lives, exploring isolation, empathy, and the fragile connections that hold people together...

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📕STORY
Makoto, a young, sensitive, and non-binary Japanese American hikikomori, is struggling with depression, loneliness, online bullying, and prejudice against their uncertain gender identity. Makoto is so isolated that even estranged brother Satoru, who shares the same house, feels distant. Ever since the siblings lost their parents, they've grown further and further apart. This has caused Makoto to live online, rather than in the tangible world. As such, Makoto's only friend is Emily, an online confidant who Makoto secretly loves. Emily is an aspiring actress in London, and Makoto supports her attempts to find her voice. But after being cast by Michael, an ambitious film producer, Emily voices suicide ideation and suddenly vanishes. Afraid for Emily's life, Makoto must investigate, reconcile with Satoru, and save Emily from a terrible fate. But deeply afraid of the outside world, Makoto is restricted to a single, claustrophobic room with nothing but an internet connection and a desperate desire to save a life. Will Makoto be able to overcome these fears — and become the hero they're meant to be?

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🌱MESSAGE
This is Director Masashi Kawamata. Thank you very much for considering our project. I'd like to close with a few thoughts.

During early discussions with potential sponsors, we were told things like: “Will a hikikomori protagonist really resonate with audiences?” and “Making a bilingual co-production is risky.” And yes, these concerns were understandable — but we chose the actors and talent who best fit our project, and we told the story we believed in — because we believed it needed to be told. We believed this story was socially meaningful and necessary for us to dedicate our lives to, as filmmakers and as people.

The stories that truly move us aren’t defined by nationality or identity. They are rooted in empathy and human connection. Think of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Akira Kurosawa — their stories cross social boundaries and resonate because they move us as humans.

We want OUT to carry that same power.

To some, they may “just be movies.” But to another, a film that reached out to them may instead be “two hours that changed my life.”

Although heroic, the protagonist of OUT is not a superhero. Makoto is an ordinary young person struggling through extraordinary yet deeply intimate challenges. And yet, we believe that ordinary people who have been overlooked by society hold great strength and possibility to bring light to the darkest parts of the world. Perhaps it's precisely these "ordinary people" that audiences connect with most. And that’s what makes stories truly relatable.

Our production team is just as ordinary — we don’t have the financial advantages of others. But we do have a story to tell — and the will to tell it. In a world that feels increasingly uncertain, people are turning to cinema for more than just entertainment. They're looking for refuge. For hope. For light. And we want OUT to be that light.

If this story resonates with you — we hope that you’ll join us as a fellow storyteller. Let’s help the world see that a hikikomori can be a hero. And together, let’s build a new kind of cinema.

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🎬“世界を救わないヒーローの物語”― たった一人の命に向き合う
💡ひきこもりの救出劇

📕あらすじ
外界への恐怖を抱き、家から出ない生活を送る「ひきこもり」のマコトは、ネット上の親友エミリーが、ある日自殺願望を仄めかしたことから、彼女を助けたいという思いを抱くようになる。マコトは、エミリーの人生だけではなく、自分の人生をも変える決断をする。ネットを通じて東京の自室から、地球の反対側にいる彼女を救出する決断だ...

Social Handles:
IG: /   / out_2026_ma.  .
TW: / https://x.com/KawamataMasashi
#out