News

Japan-born actor Yuki Kedoin has signed with Artist International Group and will be repped by Ian Stack and Kimberly Hines.

Kedoin most recently can be seen playing the role of Takemaru in all ten episodes of the FX/Hulu series “Shogun” (2024). The series received 25 nominations for the 2024 Emmy Awards.

“Yuki has had an extraordinary year showcasing his talent to the world. We are thrilled to support him as his career continues to flourish,” Stack said. “With a prolific career spanning theatre, independent film, and now television, Yuki’s artistry is undeniable. Partnering with him to expand his international opportunities is a natural fit.”

Before the success of Shogun, Kedoin made notable appearances in films and TV series, including “The Manga Master” and Netflix’s “The Naked Director.”

Since 2018, Kedoin has played an important role in the Promising Next-Generation Actor Cultivation Program operated by the government of Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs,...

Juro Kara is a Japanese avant-garde playwright, theatre director, author, actor, and songwriter. He was at the forefront of the Angura (“underground”) theatre movement in Japan, while as an actor, he cooperated with some of the biggest names of the Japanese movie industry, including Shohei Imamura, Masahiro Shinoda, Shuji Terayama, Toshio Matsumoto and Koji Wakamatsu. As a director, however, he only came up with one title, co-produced by Atg “Sea of Genkai”, an unusual type of yakuza film that focuses intently on the treatment of Korean women in the hands of the Japanese.

Follow our coverage of Atg by clicking on the link below

The movie begins with a young man causing a ruckus on a high traffic street, until an older man takes him under his wing. The young man is named Taguchi and seems to have no one in his life, which is why he almost immediately becomes...

by Fred Barrett

Released during the early years of what would ultimately be the Japanese New Wave’s final decade, Toshio Matsumoto’s second feature length film “Demons” has unfortunately dwelled in relative obscurity when compared to his most famous work, the 1969 arthouse fantasy-horror docudrama “Funeral Parade of Roses”.

When contrasted with the experimental approach that marked his cinematic debut, Matsumoto’s sophomore effort is a comparatively straightforward tale of bloody, delirious revenge. It tells the story of Gengobe Satsuma, an exiled samurai who yearns to join the legendary 47 ronin in their quest to avenge the death of their master. Just as an opportunity to get back into his former clan’s good graces arises in the form of 100 ryo, Gengobe learns that his lover Koman, a geisha, is about to be sold to another samurai. Gengobe uses the money to pay her ransom but soon discovers that he has...

One of Wakamatsu’s most infamous titles, which, for the particular director’s oeuvre really says something, “Violated Angels” was his second film to screen in Cannes in 1971, along with “Sex Jack”, and followed a somewhat similar fate, by getting distribution after the festival but being banned in a number of countries. The movie was inspired by a real-life incident that took place in Chicago the previous year, when Richard Speck massacred eight student nurses, and was shot in only three days, as long as the actual incident lasted.

The, as always, minimalist narrative takes place inside a dormitory, where, as the “story” begins, a number of female nurses are peeking at two of them having sex. One of the “voyeurs” spots a passerby walking outside their dormitory, and decides to invite him in to watch the spectacle with them. Alas, the man’s first reaction is...

While the lesser-known Shohei Imamura and Susume Hani are important figures in Japan’s new wave cinema, the most influential filmmaker and pivotal figure of this movement remains Nagisa Oshima. The Japanese new wave can in no way be compared to the French New wave or the British new wave, as each of this movement came into being in a specific societal constellation. In the case of the Japanese new wave, the movement was concerned with revealing the societal contradictions specific to Japan and, often, to underline the rise of materialistic values.

While much has already been written and said about the Japanese new wave cinema and Nagisa Oshima , there still remains more to be said about this movement. So, as a humble beginning, let’s take a closer look to one of Nagisa Oshima ’s most well-known narratives, “Diary of a Shinjuku Thief”.

One day, Birdie...

Countercultural new wave cinema from the 60s and 70s comes face-to-face with new experimental films in this investigation of youth and protest in Japan.

This edition of Jaeff, in partnership with The Japan Foundation, riffs off the Oxford Dictionaries word of 2017: ‘Youthquake’ – defined as ‘a significant cultural, political, or social change arising from the actions or influence of young people.’

Taking place at Kings College, Close-up and the Barbican, London, we are presenting classic avant-garde films from the 1960s and 1970s that examine youth counterculture, the student movements, and general currents of dissatisfaction and rebellion. From ‘sun tribe’ delinquents in “Bad Boys”, psychedelic drag queens in “Funeral Parade of Roses”, and heat-of-the-battle political documentary “Forest of Oppression”, to surreal theatre troupes in “Diary of a Shinjuku Thief”.

Showing alongside these films are short experimental works from contemporary filmmakers and video artists that engage with life in present-day Japan.

Friday 21 September 2018

King’s College,...

After revealing our Sunday line-up in our last newsletter, we’re now happy to share with you the exciting news that tickets are on sale for our Saturday 22 September screenings showing at Close-Up Film Centre!

Jaeff is delighted to present an exclusive screening of Ogawa Shinsuke’s Forest of Oppression with an extended introduction by specialist Ricardo Matos Cabo who will be showing rare footage of the student movements in 1960s Japan.

The late evening slot will see Nagisa Oshima’s wild Diary of a Shinjuku Thief paired with Desktop Treasure, an experimental short by emerging filmmaker Ummmi.

Saturday 22 September 2018 – 6pm

“Forest of Oppression” with extended introduction + video clips – Japan 1967 Dir Ogawa Shinsuke, Documentary, 105.min. Digital presentation

Shinsuke Ogawa’s astonishing documentary takes the audience behind the barricades and into the heat of running battles with riot police in this chronicle of the student occupation movement in 1967 Japan at the Takasaki City University of Economics.