Longride

Overview

Longride is a Tokyo-based independent film distribution company that imports and releases 5 to 10 foreign-language arthouse films per year in Japan. Founded on June 26, 1998 by Fumio Hatano, the company is headquartered in Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi Muromachi, and operates as a limited liability company (tokurei yugen gaisha). Longride celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023. The company's business consists of three pillars: importing foreign films, theatrical distribution, and promotional campaigns. Its catalog is heavily weighted toward European and American prestige drama, character studies, and festival-circuit acquisitions.

Longride acquires films at major European festivals (Cannes, Berlin, Venice, San Sebastian) and through relationships with international sales agents including Beta Cinema, Les Films du Losange, Celluloid Dreams, and Wild Bunch. The company releases its titles theatrically across Japan through partnerships with arthouse venues including Shinjuku Piccadilly, TOHO Cinemas Shante, Uplink Kichijoji, Midland Cinema Nagoya, Osaka Station Cinema, and Kyoto Cinema.

Distribution Model and Release Strategy

Longride operates a traditional theatrical-first model for the Japanese arthouse market. Releases typically open on 5 to 20 screens in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Kyoto, then expand based on audience response. The company runs full Japanese-language promotional campaigns including subtitles, press screenings, and cultural media outreach. For crossover titles, Longride partners with larger exhibition chains to broaden reach beyond core arthouse audiences.

In 2025, Longride entered a co-distribution partnership with MARCH Inc., a new distribution and promotion company established on March 3, 2025 by Contents Seven. Their first joint release was Francois Ozon's When Fall Is Coming (May 30, 2025), which premiered at the 72nd San Sebastian Film Festival where it won the Screenplay Award and Best Supporting Actor Award. This partnership gives Longride access to Contents Seven's downstream digital, TV, and videogram operations, creating a one-stop pipeline from theatrical through secondary windows.

Longride also operates the LONGRIDE STORE, an online merchandise shop selling original posters, T-shirts, and film-related goods for dedicated releases, generating supplementary revenue beyond box office.

2024 to 2026 Release Slate

Longride's recent and upcoming releases demonstrate its curatorial identity:

• Return to Reason (January 24, 2025) - A collaboration between artist Man Ray and director Jim Jarmusch, released with original poster merchandise through the LONGRIDE STORE
• Blue Moon (March 2025) - Academy Award-nominated in two categories, the story of lyricist Lorenz Hart
• The Choral (May 2025) - Ralph Fiennes starring in a story about a choir in a 1916 English town during wartime
• When Fall Is Coming (May 2025) - Francois Ozon directed, co-distributed with MARCH Inc.
• The Penguin Lessons (2025) - Based on a true story, acquired from international sales
• Midas Man (2025) - Biographical drama about Beatles manager Brian Epstein
• Calle Malaga (2025) - Theatrical release
• Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness (2026) - Johnny Depp directed, starring Al Pacino, acquired for all-media Japan rights
• Riefenstahl (2024) - Andres Veiel's documentary about Leni Riefenstahl, world premiered at Venice and Telluride, acquired from Beta Cinema

Catalog and Acquisition History

Longride's catalog spans over 55 distributed titles with a strong concentration in French, European, and American independent cinema. French films form a significant portion of the library, including Amour (Michael Haneke), Persopolis (Marjane Satrapi), The Lunchbox, Sorry We Missed You (Ken Loach), I, Daniel Blake (Ken Loach), Happy End (Michael Haneke), Everybody Knows (Asghar Farhadi), The Insult (Ziad Doueiri), Frantz (Francois Ozon), Dheepan (Jacques Audiard), Hitchcock/Truffaut, Jimmy's Hall (Ken Loach), Being and Having (Nicolas Philibert), The Summit of the Gods, Jeanne du Barry, and The Blue Caftan.

The company also distributed Paterson (Jim Jarmusch), Perfect Days (Wim Wenders), and Rainy Day in New York (Woody Allen). Longride co-produced Escape from Mogadishu (Ryoo Seung-wan), which was released theatrically in Japan.

What Filmmakers Should Know

Longride is a realistic acquisition target for filmmakers whose work sits in the prestige drama, character study, or festival-circuit arthouse categories. The company acquires finished films at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, San Sebastian, Sundance, and Tribeca, and through relationships with international sales agents. MG (Minimum Guarantee) ranges for Japan territory typically fall between $5,000 and $50,000 depending on the title's profile, festival pedigree, and director track record.

For international sales agents, Longride is a first-call Japanese distributor for European prestige titles, particularly French cinema. The company's long-standing relationships with Les Films du Losange, Beta Cinema, and other European sales companies mean that films represented by these agents are likely to reach Longride's acquisition team quickly.

Longride does not operate an open submission portal. Filmmakers seeking Japanese distribution should work through their international sales agent or approach the company through festival markets. The company's programming identity favors films with emotional depth, strong performances, and human-scale stories over genre or formal experimentation. Films with name directors, festival premieres, or awards nominations have the highest probability of acquisition.

Notable Releases

Longride has distributed in Japan films by Michael Haneke (Amour, Happy End), Ken Loach (I, Daniel Blake, Sorry We Missed You, Jimmy's Hall), Asghar Farhadi (Everybody Knows), Francois Ozon (Frantz, When Fall Is Coming), Jim Jarmusch (Paterson, Return to Reason), Wim Wenders (Perfect Days), Jacques Audiard (Dheepan), Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis), and Johnny Depp (Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness).

See Also

For more formally adventurous Japanese specialty distribution, see Transformer in this directory. For the full range of Japanese specialty distributors, see Gaga Corporation and Imagica Robot. To model Japanese theatrical revenue as part of an international distribution strategy, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator. For how international sales agents connect territory-specific distributors like Longride to films, see Distribution Deals Explained.