Full Breakdown
Koji Fukada Warns AI Threatens Artistic Process at Cannes Premiere of *Nagi Notes*
5/15/2026, 11:41:04 AM
Core Event: AI Critique and Film Premiere at Cannes
On May 14, 2026, Japanese filmmaker Koji Fukada debuted his drama *Nagi Notes* in the Cannes Film Festival’s main competition. While presenting the film, Fukada warned that employing artificial intelligence to “jump straight to the result” could cause art to lose its purpose of self-expression and diminish opportunities for deeper understanding of the world.
Background & Context
The director’s comments arrive amid growing use of AI tools for image and video generation. Fukada, whose previous Cannes entries include *Love on Trial* (2025 Cannes Premiere), *The Real Thing* (2020 official selection) and the Jury-Prize-winning *Harmonium* (2016 Un Certain Regard), framed his critique within the thematic concerns of *Nagi Notes*. The film adapts Oriza Hirata’s 1994 play *Tokyo Notes* and relocates its narrative to the rural town of Nagi, intertwining sculpture-making with personal relationships.
Key Figures & Groups
- Koji Fukada – writer-director, primary source of AI commentary.
- Shizuka Ishibashi (Yuri) and Takako Matsu (Yoriko) – lead actors portraying an architect and a sculptor.
- Kiyora Fujiwara (Keita) and Waku Kawaguchi (Haruki) – teenage characters exploring intimacy.
- Cannes Film Festival – organizer of the competition where the remarks were made.
Data & Statistics
- *Nagi Notes* is one of 22 titles competing for the Palme d’Or, to be awarded on May 23, 2026.
- MK2 Films, the sales company behind the project, presented 11 features in the official selection, with five in competition.
Official Statements & Responses
Fukada explained that AI-generated artwork bypasses the creative labor that traditionally deepens the artist’s engagement with subject matter. He also expressed a long-term hope that representation of diverse sexual orientations will become routine, rendering current questions about on-screen homosexuality obsolete. No additional statements from Cannes officials or other bodies appear in the source material.
Critical Reception & Themes
Reviews highlight the film’s focus on the tactile process of sculpture—pencil sketches, clay maquettes, and chisel work—mirroring Fukada’s concern about losing process. Critics note the film’s calm, contemplative tone, its philosophical dialogue on art’s purpose, and a later shift toward a more melodramatic third act. Variety praised the “precision of its characterization and the balance between heartfelt emotional candor and pensive silence,” while SCMP emphasized the backdrop of war and the characters’ subtle negotiations of desire and duty.
Verbatim Quotes
- “When AI is used to create an artwork or produce a video, you effectively skip over the process and jump straight to the result and, in doing so, we, who ought to be the ones expressing ourselves, lose sight of the very process in which we are to increase our understanding of the world," he said.” — Koji Fukada, Director
- “CANNES, France, May 14 (Reuters) - Using artificial intelligence to "jump straight to the result" could mean art fails to achieve its purposes of self-expression and to deepen our understanding of the world, Japanese filmmaker Koji Fukada said ?atthe Cannes Film Festivalon Thursday.” — Koji Fukada, Director
- “I hope that in 10, 20 or 30 years' time or longer, when it's commonplace for characters of all sexual orientations to appear in dramas, that such questions will become obsolete.” — Koji Fukada, Director
- “‘Nagi Notes’ happily sees the director returning to the form of his 2016 breakout “Harmonium,” with the precision of its characterization and the balance between heartfelt emotional candor and pensive silence in its finely worked script,” Guy Lodge wrote in his review.” — Guy Lodge, *Variety*
What’s Next
The Palme d’Or ceremony on May 23 will determine whether *Nagi Notes* joins Fukada’s previous award-winning works. Concurrently, industry discussions about AI’s role in creative production are expected to intensify, with Fukada’s Cannes remarks likely cited in forthcoming debates.
