For director Gudni Gudnason and lead actress Natsuki Kunimoto, the film explores how Japanese culture can offer a path through loss, and back to oneself.
By Natalie Johnson
A woman loses her parents and, with them, nearly loses her sense of who she is. Her search for meaning becomes the starting point for Mysterious Pond, a film that director Gudni Gudnason had dreamed of making for much of his life.
Ahead of its October 3 Hollywood premiere at the Global Stage Hollywood Film Festival, Gudnason and lead actress Natsuki Kunimoto describe a project shaped by Japanese culture, personal rediscovery and an approach to filmmaking that gives stillness room to speak.
For Kunimoto, whose credits include 47 Ronin and The Terror, the role offered an opportunity to follow a character through a profound emotional transition.
“It was a truly wonderful experience to follow the journey of a woman who, after losing her parents and nearly losing her own sense of self, discovered her inner light through Japanese culture,” she said.
That idea of discovering something within oneself also runs through Gudnason’s account of the film. His inspiration came from the Kojiki and the Japanese concept of ma: two subjects he had long wanted to explore through cinema.
Gudnason describes the Kojiki as a book about the origins of the Japanese people containing deep spiritual teachings. His interpretation of ma, often expressed as the space in between, centers on what he calls “Stillness in the Void.”
Translating those ideas into a film required months of preparation. Gudnason and his cinematographer worked on the scenes before shooting began, while his wife, the production’s art director, helped shape the settings and visual details.
“I loved making this movie both because of my dream but also because I found the perfect crew to help me make it,” he said.
The production brought together collaborators from Europe, America and Japan. Gudnason recalls a team that connected quickly, finding a shared approach to lighting, camera movement, silence and performance.
He also chose what he describes as a “one-take” filming approach. In his account, the decision initially unsettled the actors, but they gradually came to understand his vision and embrace the process.
Richard Colombo, who worked on the production, sees that invitation to approach things differently as extending to the audience.
“I think The Mysterious Pond is a work of art, and not just in the visual sense,” he said. “It asks something different of the audience, to let go of their preconceptions and allow themselves to experience its pace, its images and its atmosphere.”
Colombo said his understanding of that approach developed during preparations with Gudnason and strengthened once filming began. Working with light, color and composition helped the team pursue the director’s vision, but he believes the film’s significance extends beyond its images.
“I think it can make you feel things that cinema doesn’t often give us the time or space to feel,” he said.
For Kunimoto, the collaboration also brought together different ways of seeing Japanese culture. Alongside fellow cast members Lee Murayama, Sho Ikushima and Masaya Kato, she helped bring the film’s story into dialogue with Gudnason’s perspective.
“This film blends the perspectives of the Japanese cast with that of Director Gudnason, who lives within Japanese culture,” she said. “It sensitively portrays how the beauty and teachings of Japanese culture resonate with people’s hearts and lives, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing how Hollywood audiences will relate to this film and what they’ll take away from it.”
The Hollywood presentation arrives amid a wider effort to connect Japanese and American filmmaking. VH2 Networks and Tokyo-based Aurora Borealis Entertainment Corporation have announced a partnership intended to introduce Japanese films to American audiences while creating opportunities for American content in Japan. Their announcement places Mysterious Pond at the center of the festival presentation.
For the people behind the film, however, the coming screening also carries a more personal question: how will audiences respond to this woman’s journey?
Kunimoto is looking forward to discovering what viewers take away. Gudnason will see a lifelong ambition reach a new audience. And Colombo’s invitation is straightforward, to enter the film with an open mind and give its images, atmosphere and silences time to register.
Mysterious Pond will celebrate its world premiere at the GlobalStage Hollywood Film Festival on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres. The screening begins at 5:30 p.m., with red-carpet arrivals from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m.
