[Press Release by The Japan Foundation]
The Japanese Film Festival returns in Sydney from 2nd – 9th December at George Street Greater Union Cinemas. New to this year’s festival is an additional venue with Melbourne on the radar kicking off the program first from 27th November – 1st December at ACMI Cinemas, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image.
Laugh, cry, sing and dance. These are just a sample of sensations you will experience at the 2008 Japanese Film Festival’s (JFF) kaleidoscope of genres. This established calendar event, now in its 12th year, is a phenomenon not to be missed.
We gladly welcome to this year’s festival two very special guests from Japan.
Sydney will receive Minoru Kawasaki, Director of two cult films premiering in Sydney: the absurdly hilarious murder mystery, Executive Koala, and a space-invading political satire, Monster X Strikes Back featuring the 1960s beloved monster, Guilala, returning to the big screen with a modern twist.
Visiting Melbourne is Hiroshi Sugawara, Director of the wistful war story, Forget-Me-Not starring the talented Ruriko Asaoka who delivers a magnificent moving performance.
OPENING NIGHT
Our 2008 festival program opens with Kenji Uchida’s puzzling suspenseful drama After School with an unexpected twist that will surprise audiences. Three high school alumni and a shifty detective find themselves tangled in a web of deceit under the watchful eyes of the yakuza (mafia). Uchida’s first theatrical release, A Stranger of Mine, won an Page 1 of 1
unparalleled four awards during Critics’ Week at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, drawing praise from home and abroad.
We have a colourful palette of diverse films this year. Highlights of the 2008 program for both Sydney and Melbourne include:
Monster X Strikes Back / Attack the G8 Summit
Director: Minoru Kawasaki
Following the 1960s cult panic movie, The X from Outer Space, the beloved monster Guilala returns with a modern twist. The world is in chaos under the attack of Guilala. Political leaders from around the world gather to devise a plan, but instead wind up caught in a battle of egos.
Memories of Tomorrow
Director: Yukihiko Tsutsumi
This award-winning poignant masterpiece stars Ken Watanabe as a savvy advertising executive and his agonizing battle with an early onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
Ichi
Director: Fumihiko Sori
The journey of a beautiful, blind and lonesome female samurai, featuring swordplay direction choreographed by Hiroshi Kuze, the man behind Akira Kurosawa’s astounding sword fight sequences.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Winning the 2007 Japanese Academy Award for Best Animation, 17 year-old Makoto is a time traveller and a strong-willed tomboy who is about to discover the important lesson of how altering the past can lead to unexpected consequences in the future.
The Taste of Fish
Director: Shingo Matsubara
Fresh from the famous Tsukiji Fish Market comes the delicious flavours of The Taste of Fish starring Takao Osawa as Shuntaro who leaves the corporate world for some hands-on fish trading lessons.
Memories of Matsuko
Director: Tetsuya Nakashima
From the director of Kamikaze Girls (2004, JFF 06) comes an enchanting bittersweet fairytale of a woman’s will to survive. Nakashima, a director known for his commercial direction and use of pop-like effects, gives us a colourful splash of the ups and downs of Matsuko, complete with musical numbers along the way.
Season of Snow
Director: Eiichiro Hasumi
Experience life at top speed in the heights of the majestic white mountains of Hakuba. Season of Snow is packed with fast-paced ski action sequences coupled with a touch of romance.
Other Sydney titles include:
Evangelion 1.0: You are [Not] Alone
Director: Hideaki Anno (executive director), Masayuki & Kazuya Tsurumaki
The first installment in a planned quadrilogy, Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone has all new scenes, CGI, narrative and structure, making it the perfect companion to the landmark series. Evangelion fan or not, this is the perfect introduction for those who have yet to be entranced by the popular cult-hit series.
I Just Didn’t Do It
Director: Masayuki Suo
From the director of the original Shall We Dance?, comes an engaging courtroom drama casting a critical eye over Japan’s legal system. With a 99.9% guilty conviction rate, what do you do when all the odds are against you?
Always 2 – Sunset on Third Street
Director: Takashi Yamazaki
Following the box office sensation of Always – Sunset on Third Street (opening film for JFF 06), the residents of Third Street return in this uplifting story of hope.
Arch Angels
Director: Issei Oda
A colourful burst of pop-art visuals, Arch Angels is a unique blend of live-action manga and fairytale charm. Three girls from St. Michael’s Academy find themselves blessed with superpowers after a bizarre chicken ramen (noodle) explosion.
Welcome to the Quiet Room
Director: Suzuki Matsuo
Featuring a star-studded A-List cast with Yuki Uchida, Kankuro Kudo and Yu Aoi, Asuka (Uchida) awakes to find herself in the isolated ward of a psychiatric hospital for women along with a quirky assortment of fellow patients.
Closed Note
Director: Isao Yukisada
An abandoned diary… would you read it? Opening the pages to a long-forgotten personal piece, Kae discovers the journal of the previous tenant. A romantic story from the director who brought us two near sell-out hits at last year’s JFF, Spring Snow and Crying Out Love, in the Centre of the World.
Kabei – Our Mother
Director: Yoji Yamada
Set in the shadows of pre-WWII, Kabei – Our Mother is an emotional and compelling account of maternal love and survival, paying homage to mothers who have sacrificed themselves for the sake of their family.
FREE EVENT
Enjoy short films on us at the Australia-Japan Student Film Forum (AFSFF) on Monday 8 December, featuring the incredible works of Australian and Japanese students. This free event will showcase a variety of short films from a promising generation of emerging filmmakers. All works shown at the forum will be in the running for some generous prizes including an invitation for the winning film to be screened at the Kawasaki ShinYuri Film Festival in Japan next year.
CLOSING NIGHT
The festival will close with Yojiro Takita’s award-winning Departures, a unique story about a man discovering life through death in his profession in caring for the deceased.
Departures won the 2008 Grand Prix des Americas, the highest award at the Montreal World Film Festival, and is Japan’s official entry for the 2009 Academy Awards’ foreign-language film category.
The 12th Japanese Film Festival
www.jpf.org.au
Sydney
2 December – 9 December
Greater Union
505 – 525 George St, Sydney
Tickets on sale 1 November from Greater Union JFF Box Office (02) 9273 7431^
^JFF Box Office hours are Mon – Fri, 12 – 2pm, 4pm – 8pm & Sat – Sun, 1pm – 7pm. JFF Box Office times will vary during the festival.
Cost: Adult $14/ Concession $12/ 5-film pass $55 (excluding opening & closing films)
Melbourne
27 November – 1 December
ACMI Cinemas, Australian Centre for the Moving Image
Federation Square, Flinders Street, Melbourne
Tickets on sale 3 November from ACMI Box Office (03) 8663 2583 or online at www.acmi.net.au/tickets
Cost: Adult $14/ Concession $12/ 5-film pass $55 (excluding opening & closing films)
Enquiries only: Japan Foundation, Sydney (02) 8239 0055 / event@jpf.org.au