NHK Enterprises (NEP), the international distribution arm of Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, arrives at ATF 2025 with a diverse content slate that highlights high-concept science fiction, historical drama, and factual programming exploring Japan’s anime industry. The selection reflects the distributor’s focus on both culturally specific narratives and universally resonant themes.
The scripted lineup is led by Queen of Mars (3 x 89 min. / 6 x 49 min.), a sci-fi fantasy set in the year 2125. Four decades after human habitation began on Mars, the colony is under authoritarian rule and facing supernatural phenomena. The story follows Lili E1102, a visually impaired woman born on Mars, and Shiraishi Aoto, a young Earthling scientist, as their lives intersect amid disaster and political machinations.
NEP is also presenting The Ghost Writer’s Wife (125 x 15 min.), an NHK Morning Series based on the life of Koizumi Setsu, wife of Lafcadio Hearn. Set during the Meiji era, the drama follows Toki, a woman from a fallen samurai clan who finds love and purpose through a shared fascination with ghost stories after becoming a maid for a foreign English teacher.
Other drama highlights include Hirayasumi (20 x 15 min.), a slice-of-life series adapted from a global hit manga. The story centers on 29-year-old Ikuta Hiroto, a carefree man who inherits a one-story house and begins living with his cousin, attracting troubled souls seeking respite. In the suspense genre, The Perfect Homecoming (4 x 44 min.) tells the unsettling story of several individuals returning to the same «hometown» and being welcomed by the same «mother,» unraveling a mystery about identity and belonging.
In factual programming, NEP offers a deep dive into Japanese pop culture with Innovators of Japan Anime (1 x 59 min.). The documentary provides rare access to filmmaker Oshiyama Kiyotaka as he creates his latest film, Look Back, and features interviews with creators from MAPPA to discuss the future of the anime industry.
Rounding out the slate is Quantum Entanglement: Einstein’s Final Mystery (1 x 50 min.), a science documentary that explores the «spooky action at a distance» phenomenon. The program uses visual explanations to clarify complex subatomic concepts that could pave the way for future technologies like teleportation and cryptographic communication.
