News

by Tiago Carneiro

Although it was overlooked at the few film festivals it played in, Yukiko Mishima‘s latest work, “Voice”, is a unique addition to this year’s Japanese cinema catalogue, with a third act that you do not want to miss. “Voice” is an anthology film offering three separate vignettes about coping with loss, trauma, grief and guilt, where Mishima uses characters rather distinct from each other to explore how these feelings affect the human mind, regardless of the body.

There is an almost depressing tone to “Voice” due to a lack of background music and an abundance of quiet, longer takes where not much is verbally spoken. All characters have nihilistic views of the world and isolate themselves from human connection and relationships, likely due to their traumatic experiences. “Voice” offers a calm, introspective journey of healing and escaping from the demons of the past, and a...

The new co-production treaty signed between Japan and Italy is being touted as a significant step towards reintegrating Japan’s film production industry with those overseas countries.

The agreement – signed in June and activated in August – was directly referenced on Monday by Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and has colored the programming of this week’s Tokyo International Film Festival, which includes a Nanni Moretti retrospective, closes with Marcello Mastroianni tribute film “Marcello Mio” and sees his daughter Chiara Mastroianni set as a member of the festival’s main competition jury. The treaty’s ratification also gave rise to a reception Tuesday at the Italian embassy in Tokyo’s Tamachi district.

“Tonight’s reception is more than a celebration — it is a call to action. Our creative industries can come together to build narratives that reset borders,” said Italian ambassador Gianluigi Benedetti at the event.

“Blending Italian and Japanese art creativity and innovation.

The Far East Film Festival (Feff) in Italy’s Udine has unveiled the full line-up for its 26th edition, which will honour Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou with an honorary award and world premiere restored versions of his Raise The Red Lantern and To Live.

Running April 24 to May 2, the festival will open with a double bill: Chinese box office hit Yolo and South Korean action-comedy Citizen Of A Kind.

Yolo dominated this year’s Lunar New Year releases, grossing $484m in China, and is directed by Jia Ling, who stars as an unemployed woman in her 30s whose life is...

Japan’s Free Stone Productions has secured international sales rights to upcoming drama Promised Land and is launching the feature at Hong Kong Filmart.

It marks the feature directorial debut of Masashi Iijima and is based on a novel of the same name written by Kazuichi Iijima.

Set in a mountainous region of northern Japan in 1983, the story is centred on traditional hunters known as the Matagi, who track and kill wildlife every winter. The film follows two young men with opposing views who venture out in search of a bear, despite the introduction of a hunting ban by Japan’s environmental agency.

The Skip City International D-Cinema Festival 2024 will celebrate its 21st edition from July 13th (Sat) to 21st (Sun), 2024 for 9 days at Skip City, which is an integrated institution for digital cinema production.

(See: https://www.skipcity-dcf.jp/en/)

Submission period: January 31st, 2024 (Wed) – March 1st, 2024 (Fri)

Skip City International D-Cinema Festival remains committed to discovering and nurturing new talent, with the aim of helping these filmmakers seize new business opportunities that have arisen in the changing landscape of the film industry. Now calling for works (60 min. or longer) that have been shot digitally and must be the director's 1st, 2nd, or 3rd feature film from all over the world for the International Competition section.

Call for entries for the International Competition!!

Entry Deadline: Must be received by March 1st, 2024 (Fri)

Submit via FilmFreeway

https://filmfreeway.com/Skipcityinternationald-CinemaFESTIVAL (Online registration / Free)

All nominated films in competition categories are eligible for the Festival Organizers awards.

Key Asian territories have picked up the drama.

Japan’s Free Stone Productions has secured a brace of deals on Yuya Ishii’s The Moon, following its world premiere in competition at Busan International Film Festival this week.

The film has been acquired for distribution in Taiwan (SkyDigi) and Korea (Media Castle) during the Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm), which runs parallel to the festival. It is set to be released in Japan by Star Sands on October 13.

The story follows a writer named Yoko who takes a job at a nursing home, where she witnesses elderly and disabled residents...

Further winners included Paul B. Preciado’s French documentary ‘Orlando, My Political Biography’.

There Is A Stone by Japanese filmmaker Tatsunari Ota and From You by Korea’s Shin Dongmin were awarded the top prizes at South Korea’s Jeonju International Film Festival on Wednesday (May 3).

There Is A Stone took the grand prize in the international competition, which included an award of KW20m. The meditative drama, which premiered at Tokyo Filmex before screening at the Berlinale in February, follows a woman and man who meet by a river and pass the time together before twilight.

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More than 60 films to receive their world premieres at the festival.

South Korea’s Jeonju International Film Festival (April 27-May 6) has unveiled a line-up of 247 films from 42 countries for its 24th edition and will open with Tori And Lokita by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes.

The Belgian filmmaking duo will attend the Korean premiere of their feature, which played in Competition at Cannes last year and won the festival’s special 75th anniversary prize.

Jeonju will close with the world premiere of Kim Hee-Jung’s Where Would You Like To Go?, a Korea-Poland co-production about a woman who travels to Warsaw...

We are happy to announce that the Skip City International D-Cinema Festival 2023 will celebrate its 20th anniversary edition from July 15th (Sat) to 23th (Sun), 2023 for 9 days at Skip City, which is an integrated institution for digital cinema production

(See: https://www.skipcity-dcf.jp/en/)

Submission period: January 25th, 2023 (Wed) – March 1st, 2023 (Wed)

We remain committed to discovering and nurturing new talent, with the aim of helping these filmmakers seize new business opportunities that have arisen in the changing landscape of the film industry. Now we call for works (60 min. or longer) that have been shot digitally and must be the director’s 1st, 2nd, or 3rd feature film from all over the world for the International Competition section.

Call for entries for the International Competition!!

Entry Deadline: Must be received by March 1st, 2023 (Wed)

Submit via FilmFreeway

https://filmfreeway.com/Skipcityinternationald-CinemaFESTIVAL (Online registration / Free)

Our International Competition welcomes you!

Telling a story about growth or a generational conflict has been done many times. At the same time, considering many storytellers seem to stress the same subjects and conflicts, there is a distinct tendency for repetition within these tales without them actually making a new point, and quite a few of them feeling somewhat redundant in the first place. In the case of Yukiko Mishima’s 2015 feature “a stitch of life”, the focus shifts as the story is firmly placed within the world of fashion, or more precisely, the fascination for fabrics and the joy of making dresses and suits for people. Similar to more recent efforts from the director, such as “Shape of Red”, it is also the story of a contrast of one’s passion and what is expected of you.

a stitch of life is screening at Japan Society

For many years, Ichie Minami (Miki Nakatani) has tailored clothes,...

From a futuristic existential animation about androids to a culturally rich documentary delving into the art of ramen-making, the Japanese Film Festival: Online returns from 14-27 February 2022 with a free streamed Festival featuring the best in Japanese cinema.

The 2022 Festival presented by The Japan Foundation, Sydney will screen 17 films nation-wide for free, including feature films and documentaries. Jff Online 2022 marks the second time The Japan Foundation, Sydney will screen the festival across Australia to enjoy online.

Japanese Film Festival Director, Yurika Sugie said:

“Jff Online invites Australian audiences to celebrate the richness of Japanese cinema from the comfort of their own homes, with an eclectic virtual program traversing the hottest new international film festival award-winners, past Jff favourites and cult hits.”

Japanese Film Festival Programmer, Susan Bui said:

“Enjoy cutting-edge titles from Japan’s finest auteurs in tandem with Japanophiles from 25 countries world-wide as part of this exciting global initiative.

Emi Saito gained experience as an assistant director under numerous prominent filmmakers such as Takahisa Zeze, Masayuki Suo, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and Yukiko Mishima. “One Night, Two Threads” is the first time for her sitting in the chair of the director.

One Night, Two Threads is screening at Skip City International D-Cinema Festival

The film begins with Yujin, a woman in her 30s, roaming the bright-lighted, busy streets, being, however, completely lost in her own thoughts. Eventually, she decides to enter a small tavern, where she orders a tea, before she changes her order to a beer, to the amusement of another woman sitting in the bar, though in a psychological status completely different than Yujin’s. Soon, the two of them start talking, and although the second, who is revealed to be Aki, a copywriter, is almost too direct in her questions, Yujin seems to enjoy the company. Soon, Yujin starts sharing things about herself,...

To many women and men, marriage is not only a happy occasion, but ultimately the center goal in their lives, unrelated to their cultural background. Especially in Western civilizations, marriage is not only connected to love and the concept of an eternal bond between people, but also a certain feeling of safety, emotionally and, perhaps more significantly, economically. Similar to the decision to buy a house and start a family, it sets a direction in one’s life, a victory, so to speak, to meet people’s expectations. In her home country, as director Yukiko Mishima explains, marriage, having children and buying/owning a house have become cultural rather than individual standards. Especially with regards to women, marriage as a means to create stability in one’s life also creates an immense pressure not to “slip up”.

Shape of Red is screening at Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme

In her...

While U.S. distribution has been improved in the last few years when it comes to the vast, rich offerings of Japanese cinema, there are still many gems that go virtually unseen here. Thankfully, a new series by Japan Society and Agency for Cultural Affairs titled 21st Century Japan: Films from 2001-2020 will make a wealth of these titles available for viewing stateside.

Featuring Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Air Doll, the U.S. premieres of Sion Sono’s Red Post on Escher Street and Yukiko Mishima’s Shape of Red, Naomi Kawase’s Still the Water, Takashi Miike’s The Great Yokai War, a spotlight on and conversation with Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and much more, we’re pleased to present the exclusive trailer for the series, which takes place on February 5-25. While there’s much to discover, I’d also highly recommend Tetsuya Nakashima’s Confessions and Yui Kiyohara’s Our House,...

New York, NY –Japan Society and the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan (Aca), in collaboration with the Visual Industry Promotion Organization (Vipo), announce the inaugural Aca Cinema Project online film series 21st Century Japan: Films from 2001-2020, streaming nationwide on Japan Society’s Virtual Cinema from February 5-25, 2021.

As Japan’s film industry enters its third decade in the new millennium, this 30-film online series takes a look back at the last 20 years of Japanese cinema to celebrate some of the most remarkable narrative fiction films and filmmakers that define the era. Covering a wide range of production styles and genres—from small budget independent debuts to festival favorites and award-winning major studio releases—this diverse slate of feature and short films offers a guided tour of modern Japanese cinema, including special spotlights dedicated to the work of Kiyoshi Kurosawa and a selection of breakout films by up-and-coming filmmakers.

The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre’s unprecedented 9th annual Toronto Japanese Film Festival will be held online from Saturday, October 3 to Thursday, October 22 and features 22 films using the SHIFT72 festival platform. For the first time, Tjff is expanding its reach beyond Toronto to audiences across all of Canada, maintaining the festival’s sense of community while promoting friendship, understanding, and exchange between the Japanese and broader Canadian community. The festival has grown into one of the largest film events of its kind in the world and is recognized by the Japanese film industry as a vital conduit for bringing Japanese film to international audiences.

Tjff 2020 also presents major award winners for their Canadian premieres: Mitsuhito Fujii’s The Journalist which won the Japanese Academy Awards for Best Film, Best Actor (Tori Matsuzaka) and Best Actress (Eun-kyung Shim); Hirohiko Arai’s intense erotic odyssey It Feels So Good (Kinema Junpo Awards...

To many women and men, marriage is not only a happy occasion, but ultimately the center goal in their lives, unrelated to their cultural background. Especially in Western civilizations, marriage is not only connected to love and the concept of an eternal bond between people, but also a certain feeling of safety, emotionally and, perhaps more significantly, economically. Similar to the decision to buy a house and start a family, it sets a direction in one’s life, a victory, so to speak, to meet people’s expectations. In her home country, as director Yukiko Mishima explains, marriage, having children and buying/owning a house have become cultural rather than individual standards. Especially with regards to women, marriage as a means to create stability in one’s life also creates an immense pressure not to “slip up”.

“Shape of Red” is screening at Nippon Connection 2020

In her adaptation of Rio Shimamoto...

From 9 June to 14 June the 20th edition of the acclaimed Nippon Connection will take place, this year in an online format like many other film festivals around the globe. Nevertheless, the festival, like in the editions before, aims to present a blend of current Japanese films along with some classics. Apart from a program containing over 70 titles from all genres, the festival offers a wide range of workshops, discussions, lectures and even a virtual marketplace with a plethora of diverse offers.

Under the headline of “Nippon on Demand” the festival collaborates with the video platform Vimeo where audiences can log in and, for a fee, can stream the titles of the festivals for a duration of 24 hours. The platform will also be used for the popular Q&a sessions with Japanese directors and actors.

Among the first titles which have been announced is Werner Herzog’s docu-drama “Family Romance, LLC...

Chicago’s Asian Pop-Up Cinema has announced the full line-up for its 10th Season including 16 new films from across Asia. Season Ten runs for five-weeks from March 10 through April 9, 2020. Each week will be dedicated to highlighting films from the same geographic location with one film shown on different days each week. A majority of the screenings will be presented at the festival’s primary venue, AMC River East 21. Select titles are screened at collaborative partners’ premises: Chicago Filmmakers, Alliance Française de Chicago, and the Chinese American Museum.

Asian Pop-Up Cinema’s Season Ten opens by honoring Hong Kong filmmaking with two North American Premieres starting with “I’m Livin it” on March 10. Nominated for 10 awards from the 39th Hong Kong Film Awards, “I’m Livin It”, tells the story of a man who was once a star in his finance firm (Aaron Kwok), but now spends his life in a...

One thing is for certain: Japanese directors are in the top of the family drama genre, which they have been perfecting since the beginning of the country’s cinema. And although “Dear Etranger” (the French word for stranger in case you were wondering) is not a masterpiece, it certainly proves the fact. The film won the Special Grand Prix of the Jury Award at the 2017 Montreal World Film Festival.

“Dear Etranger” screened at Japan Cuts 2018

The script is based on Kiyoshi Shigematsu’s 1996 novel “Osanago Warera ni Umare”. Makoto is an assistant manager to a big company and a career man who separates himself from his colleagues by being dedicated to his family, meaning he does not go for drinks with them after work, but instead prefers on returning to his house and spending time with his family. His family situation, however, is quite complicated, since he currently lives with his second wife,...

“People Still Call It Love” Passion, Affection and Destruction in Japanese Cinema

UK – 2 February to 28 March 2019

Belfast – Bristol – Chester – Colchester – Derby – Dundee – Edinburgh – Exeter – Halifax – Inverness – Kendal – Leicester – Lewes – London – Manchester – Newcastle upon Tyne – Nottingham – Sheffield – Stirling

Love, in all its semblances and dimensions, is a state so universally experienced by humankind that it has provided a perpetual source of inspiration in the long history of global cinema. Japanese cinema is no different. Love and the associated feelings of passion, affection, and destruction, in equal measure have all been channelled into a pivotal driving force behind the rise of many Japanese filmmakers, crystallising in timeless works which form part of the nation’s artistic repertoire.

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2019 features thoughtfully selected works, all focusing on this theme in one way or another. As the conventional binaries defining what it means to love continually give way to new understandings of this sweeping emotion,...

The Tiffcom market, a sales event adjacent to the Tokyo International Film Festival, always includes the latest film launches from Japan. This year the selection is especially varied and rich. Arranged by sales company, highlights include:

Kadokawa

“Chiwawa”

Scripted and directed by Ken Ninomiya, this mystery about a 20-year-old Instagram star who ends up dead in Tokyo Bay, is based on a popular comic. It features a cast that includes the internationally known Chiaki Kuriyama (“Kill Bill”) and Tadanobu Asano (“The Third Murder”).

“Hard-Core”

Festival favorite, Nobuhiro Yamashita has adapted a cult hit comic about a pair of misfits who are inseparable friends. They encounter a retro-looking robot with astonishing powers, and together embark on a bizarre hunt for long-buried treasure.

“The Antique: Secret of the Old Books”

Yukiko Mishima, director of the acclaimed 2017 drama “Dear Etranger,” has returned with a literary mystery, based on En Mikami’s best-selling novel.

In today’s film news roundup, a Fox veteran is hired by “Crazy Rich Asians” producer Sk Global, Garry Pastore will play Albert Anastasia, and Ed Wood’s “Take It Out in Trade” is getting a release.

Executive Hiring

“Crazy Rich Asians” producer Sk Global and its Ivanhoe Pictures has hired Fox International Productions executive Xian Li as senior vice president of production.

Li will work alongside the executive teams of Ivanhoe Pictures and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and will be charged with enhancing and expanding the company’s slate of Asian-focused global film and TV projects.

“After focusing on Asia in the past years, I’m truly inspired by the fascinating creative talents and materials available, and how they differ from the current domestic creative landscape,” Li said. “The success of ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ is a strong manifesto that the audience deserves to see more diverse content from Hollywood, and...

Executive previously served as director, development and production at Fip.

Busy Sk Global, whose Ivanhoe Pictures label co-produced and co-financed the reigning North American box office champion Crazy Rich Asians, has hired film development and production executive Xian Li as senior vice president, production.

Li will work alongside the executive teams of Sk Global’s two labels, Ivanhoe Pictures and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, and will be charged with enhancing and expanding the slate of Asian-focused, globally minded film and TV projects.

“After focusing on Asia in the past years, I’m truly inspired by the fascinating creative talents and materials available,...

One thing is for certain: Japanese directors are in the top of the family drama genre, which they have been perfecting since the beginning of the country’s cinema. And although “Dear Etranger” (the French word for stranger in case you were wondering) is not a masterpiece, it certainly proves the fact. The film won the Special Grand Prix of the Jury Award at the 2017 Montreal World Film Festival.

Dear Etranger is screening at Japan Cuts 2018

The script is based on Kiyoshi Shigematsu’s 1996 novel “Osanago Warera ni Umare”. Makoto is an assistant manager to a big company and a career man who separates himself from his colleagues by being dedicated to his family, meaning he does not go for drinks with them after work, but instead prefers on returning to his house and spending time with his family. His family situation, however, is quite complicated, since he currently lives with his second wife,...

Shinobu Terajima, one of the most renowned Japanese actresses, will receive the Nippon Honor Award at the 18th Nippon Connection Film Festival in Frankfurt am Main. The award will be given out for the fourth time and honors personalities who have made outstanding contributions to Japanese film. The award ceremony will take place during the closing event of the Nippon Connection Festival on June 3, 7:45 p.m. at Künstlerhaus Mousonturm. Actress Shinobu Terajima will receive the Nippon Honor Award in person, giving the festival a glamorous finale with the screening of the romantic drama The City of Betrayal by Daisuke Miura. With Oh Lucy! by Atsuko Hirayanagi, Dear Etranger by Yukiko Mishima, and Vibrator by Ryuichi Hiroki, the Nippon Connection Film Festival presents further milestones of her impressive career. The Nippon Honor Award is kindly supported by Japan Airlines.

About Shinobu Terajima

Shinobu Terajima was born in Kyoto in...