The first full-length film from director Atsushi Ogata will have its premiere screening at the Museum of Modern Art in New York next year.

Titled "Wakiyaku Monogatari," the romantic comedy stars Toru Masuoka and Hiromi Nagasaku. Masuoka plays a forgettable actor eternally stuck in supporting roles, who rediscovers himself through his romance with a budding actress (Nagasaku).

Ogata has been active as a short filmmaker and director, primarily in Europe but also in the United States and Japan. He previously worked with Masuoka in the 2007 short film "Furochoju" ("Eternally Yours"). With regard to casting Nagasaku as the heroine, Ogata said that he decided on her after watching only fifteen minutes of last year's "Hito no Sex wo Warau na," which starred Nagasaku and actor Kenichi Matsuyama.

The supporting cast of "Wakiyaku Monogatari" includes Masahiko Tsugawa and Keiko Matsuzaka. Filming is scheduled to wrap up next month, and the finished picture is expected to premiere at MoMA at the start of 2010. Ogata is also hoping to have the movie screened at international film festivals next year.