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The Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan (Aca) is sponsoring the seventh Aca Cinema Project — Emerging Japanese Films — as the cornerstone of its Japan Overseas Expansion Enhancement Project. Visual Industry Promotion Organization (Vipo) serves as the steward for the encore of this distinguished screening series. Three recently released, prestigious theatrical titles headline the event, which runs from Tuesday, September 26, through Thursday, September 28, at the Linwood Dunn Theater, Hollywood. Festivities are free of charge for accredited entertainment industry professionals.

Launching the Aca Cinema Project on September 26 at 7:00 p.m. is the stateside debut of Kazuyoshi Kumakiri‘s quirky, character-driven, road trip drama Yoko (2022; Trt: 113 minutes). Yoko represents the longtime professional reunion of director Kumakiri and Oscar®-nominated actress Rinko Kikuchi (Tokyo Vice, Babel). Yoko marks the 20-year follow-up to their initial collaboration, 2001 Rotterdam International Film Festival Fipresci Prize winner Hole in the Sky.

Aca Cinema Project offers two...

Read More: San Sebastian Film Festival Announces 2015 Competition Titles The 63rd San Sebastian Film Festival will have a retrospective focusing on independent cinema produced in Japan over the last 15 years. The category will include works from both first-time directors as well as some of the country's most experienced.  The "Japanese Independent Cinema 2000-2015" retrospective is organized by the San Sebastian Festival, CulturArts-ivac (Valencia), the Filmoteca Vasca, the San Telmo Museum and the San Sebastian European Capital of Culture 2016. The retrospective will also be accompanied by the publication of a book by Shozo Ichiyama, a Japanese producer and director of programming at the Tokyo Filmex International Film Festival.  The titles for the retrospective include: 1. "H Story" (2001)- Directed by Nobuhiro Suwa  2. "Sora no ana" ("Hole in the Sky") (2001)- Directed by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri  3. "Border...

Retrospective will focus on Japanese independent cinema from the past 15 years and includes Cannes favourite Naomi Kawase.

The San Sebastian Film Festival is to programme a retrospective for its 63rd edition (Sept 18-26) titles New Japanese independent cinema 2000-2015.

Among the titles making up the retrospective from known directors are:

H Story (2001) by Nobuhiro Suwa;A Snake of June (Rokugatsu no hebi, 2002) by Shin’ya Tsukamoto;Bright Future (Akarui mirai, 2003) by Kiyoshi Kurosawa;Vibrator (2003) by Ryuichi Hiroki;Bashing (2005) by Masahiro Kobayashi;Birth/Mother (Tarachime, 2006) by Naomi Kawase;Love Exposure (Ai no mukidashi, 2008) by Shion Sono.

The works of several new talents to have made their debut since 2000 include:

Hole in the Sky (Sora no ana, 2001) by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri,Border Line (2002) by Sang-il Lee,No One’s Ark (Baka no hakobune, 2003) by Nobuhiro Yamashita, The Soup, One Morning (Aru asa, soup wa, 2005) by Izumi Takahashi,Fourteen (Ju-yon-sai, 2007) by Hiromasa Hirosue,Sex Is Not Laughing Matter (Hito no sekkuso...