Indonesian and Japanese film companies have collaborated in a fantasy drama film Laut (The Man from the Sea).

Helmed by Japanese director Koji Fukada, the film is set to be released in Japan in early 2018 and Indonesia in mid-2018.

Laut (The Man from the Sea) follows a mysterious man (Dean Fujioka) who is stranded on a shore near Banda Aceh, and who is then named Laut (Sea) by the people who find him. Interestingly, his presence later causes many miracles until one incident raises suspicions among the locals, making them wonder who Laut actually is.

Fukada said the film’s story idea came when he visited Banda Aceh in 2011 for a symposium on disaster recovery, kompas.com reported, as both Japan and Indonesia had been hit by tsunamis.

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Terimakasih juga sudah hadir di gelaran konfrensi pers #LAUT (#TheManFromTheSea). Sampai jumpa tahun depan! 🇮🇩 🇯🇵 A post shared by Kaninga Pictures (@kaningapictures) on Nov 7, 2017 at 7:30pm PST

“At that time I got a culture shock after knowing how different the facilities in handling disaster were [in Banda Aceh] compared to Japan,” Fukada said. He then realized that nature could be beautiful yet disastrous for humans and this encouraged him to create a story about the sea as well as a man named Laut.

“Both Japan and Indonesia share one sea. In fact, the world is connected by one sea,” said the director, who brought home the trophy from Un Certain Regard section for Fuchi ni Tatsu at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. “I want to draw that fact through a mysterious character named Laut.”

The film, which is part of a collaboration between Jakarta-based film company Kaninga Pictures and Japan film company Nikkatsu, features Adipati Dolken and Sekar Sari as cast members. (wir/kes)