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Considering that the Korean movie industry is facing intense problems, with the majority of titles of quality actually being shorts lately, the programmers of Bifan opted for the ideal solution. They picked a number of shorts for their program and invested heavily on Japanese movies, whose industry seem to be in a rather good place lately. The result was definitely a success, with a number of titles truly standing out (we will definitely include many in our Best Of lists). The tribute to Professor Manabu was another good idea in an all around very accomplished program. “Necrophilia”, “Mad Mask” and “New Group” were some of the titles that stood out, in a program, though, with many good moments.

1. Film Review: Suicide Notes Laid on the Table (2025) by Tsutomu Hanabusa

Ultimately, “Suicide Notes Laid on the Table” is best appreciated not as a realistic portrayal of student life or mental health,...

Following the excellent “Best Wishes to All,” Yuta Shimotsu once again blends horror with biting social commentary, this time targeting the mindless conformity deeply rooted in Japanese society.

New Group is screening at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival

The story revolves around two high school students, Ai (“I”) and Yu (“You”), a symbolic parallel that is hard to miss. Ai is an introverted, ordinary girl burdened with family troubles. One day, Yu, a transfer student recently returned from overseas, joins her school. Struggling to adjust to Japan’s rigid group mentality, he openly questions the necessity of belonging, whether to a group or even to a family. Ai becomes intrigued by him, but his emotional distance initially causes tension between them.

Soon, a bizarre incident disrupts school life: a student suddenly crouches on all fours in the schoolyard and refuses to move. Despite attempts by teachers and classmates to stop him,...

The premiere date for the live-action version of 5 Centimeters Per Second is fast approaching — at least for Japanese fans — and this week the official site of the production unveiled a first teaser trailer that reveals the visuals and tone of the adaptation. It looks like it will be everything that fans hope for, but of course we will only know it for sure after the movie debuts in theaters. A U.S. theatrical or streaming release is yet to be announced.

The trailer recreates some of the most iconic scenes from the original 2007 Makoto Shinkai (Your Name) movie and suggests that it will do a frame-by-frame recreation of some scenes. The trailer is in Japanese, but for Western audiences, it is enough to get the general vibe of the adaptation. It's all there — the parallels between different stages of life, the rocket launch, and, of course, the iconic cherry blossom tree.

The official website for the upcoming live-action film adaptation of Makoto Shinkai's 2007 anime film 5 Centimeters per Second released a main trailer today. The clip revealed that singer-songwriter Masayoshi Yamazaki's hit song "One more time, One more chance," which was featured in Shinkai's original anime film, is again used as an insert song in the live-action film. 5 Centimeters per Second Main Trailer "One more time, One more chance" was originally released as Yamazaki's fourth CD single on January 22, 1997. "When this song 'One more time, One more chance' was used in the 2007 theatrical anime film '5 Centimeters per Second,' I feel that director Makoto Shinkai breathed new life into this song," said Yamazaki. "I am honored that the song will be used again in the live-action version. I think this is a very fortunate song that has been loved by everyone. I am looking forward to...

Up-and-coming director Ayaka Horii presents her new short film, “The Angel Island,” at the Osaka Asian Film Festival. Shot entirely on the Malaysian island of Penang, this dreamlike drama acts as a prequel to Horii’s upcoming feature film debut, “Two Angels, One Midnight Escape” (2025).

The Angel Island is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival

Sotaro is a young man battling an illness. One day, while resting on the hospital rooftop, he is inexplicably transported to a distant land, where he wanders around like a ghost without being noticed by the people around him. He is led by a mysterious desire to meet someone special. The exact root and purpose of this thought are unclear. But when another man, who awaits the annual reunion with his girlfriend Mimi, recognizes him, Sotaro’s journey spices up. Being annoyed and jealous of the reunited couple, Sotaro accompanies them in the spirit of finding a partner,...

Stars: Sayu Kubota, Yuzu Aoki, Mituru Fukikoshi, Akaji Maro, Shunsuke Tanaka, Hitomi Takahashi, Atsuko Maeda | Written by Ken’ichi Ugana, Hirobumi Watanabe | Directed by Ken’ichi Ugana

Love Will Tear Us Apart is the latest film from director Ken’ichi Ugana, who has made a name for himself on the festival circuit with films like Extraneous Matter and Visitors. His latest is a strange tale that takes one part It Follows and one part slasher movie.

The film follows Wakaba, a young girl whose father is an abusive alcoholic and whose mother is too timid to defend herself or Wakaba. But that doesn’t stop Wakaba from defending her fellow classmate Koki who is being bullied by other students at elementary school. However that defence, and subsequent friendship between the two, is ruined by the school bullies turning their attention to Wakaba. But that attention doesn’t last long as the...

Despite the fact that Kenichi Ugana usually follows genre paths in his filmmaking, his will to change styles is also evident throughout his body of work, which we have been covering since 2018 and “Good-Bye Silence”. His latest work, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” amusingly goes into slasher territory, in a movie that had its world premiere at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival and won the Grand Prix at the Portland Horror Film Festival.

“Love Will Tear Us Apart” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative

The film begins in an elementary school, where we are introduced to Wakaba, a girl who has to face her father's aggressive behavior, along with her mother. Probably due to this, when she sees one of her classmates, Koki, being bullied in school, she decides to help him, in a decision, though, that ends up with both of them being bullied by two particular students,...

“When you start looking in the darkness, you’ll see something. That’s the idea I wanted to depict and convey,” Kogahara Takeshi told Variety, after the screening of his debut “Nagisa,” a movie where darkness and silences play a crucial role.

The plot follows a young man (played by Yuzu Aoki) who suffers from guilt related to the death of his adored sister (Yamazaki Nanami), and encounters her ghost in a haunted tunnel. Thus, he keeps on visiting the tunnel to re-experience his past.

“The core idea came up when I was studying at the film school, a long time ago – 20 years ago or so. The idea was to [have a character] go into a tunnel and there see someone else, a ghost of someone special, [someone] you belong to.”

“Nagisa”

While continuing his career path, this idea remained stuck in Kogahara’s mind, until he managed to write a first draft of “Nagisa” eight years ago.

Newcomers in filmmaking are characterized by a lack of experience, which, however, can prove a most important tool in presenting original stories and implementing new cinematic approaches. Taku Tsuboi does just that in a film whose story combines the Aum incident with 3/11 and elements of thriller, mystery and the supernatural, and its approach, elements of stage play and performance.

“Sacrifice” is screening at Japan Cuts 2020

The film sets its tone from the introduction scene, where a young girl, in the setting of the headquarters of a cult, predicts the 2011 Earthquake. Flash forward some years, and the girl is now a college student, while we also learn that her name is Midori and the cult she was unwittingly involved with was The Sacred Tide. While her premonitions continue, strange things continue to occur around her, as a killer of cats seems to roam the campus, and a human body is eventually found.

A delicate yet deeply felt portrait of that ephemeral time of life that is adolescence, the 60-minute featurette “Moonless Dawn” is a young work from young director/writer Harika Abe, and when I say young I certainly don’t mean green or juvenile, but on he contrary I mean fresh, with a flourishing creative drive and the pulse of its target audience. Winner of Moosic Lab 2018’s Actor Award “Moonless Dawn” is now streaming via the Japanese Film Festival Magazine.

“Moonless Dawn” follows three teenagers facing the sense of helplessness in dealing with pre-adulthood and the loss of reference points that it inevitably brings with it. Kou (Yuzu Aoki) is lost in a father/son relationship he simply cannot fix, where the father’s alienation and despair constitute an unfair load on Kou’s shoulder. Saki (Haruka Echigo) too has family turmoils; her parents are arguing all the time and...

About the Film

A delicate yet deeply felt portrait of that ephemeral time of life that is adolescence, the 60-minute featurette “Moonless Dawn” is a young work from young director/writer Harika Abe, and when I say young I certainly don’t mean green or juvenile, but on he contrary I mean fresh, with a flourishing creative drive and the pulse of its target audience. Winner of Moosic Lab 2018’s Actor Award “Moonless Dawn” is now streaming via the Japanese Film Festival Magazine.

Synopsis

“Moonless Dawn” follows three teenagers dealing with pre-adulthood and the loss of reference points that it inevitably takes with it. Kou (Yuzu Aoki) is lost in a father/son relationship he simply cannot fix, where the father’s alienation and despair constitute an unfair load on Kou’s shoulder. Saki (Haruka Echigo) too has family turmoils; her parents are arguing all the time and the male...