A Japanese story through film
This upcoming film festival in Malaysia offers a glimpse into Japanese culture through cinematic visuals, memorable characters and inspired storytelling.
THE highly anticipated Japanese Film Festival is back with a selection of 12 movies at selected Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) outlets in the Klang Valley (GSC Mid Valley, Nu Sentral and 1Utama) from Sept 8 to 14; Penang (GSC Gurney Plaza) from Sept 15 to 18; Johor Baru (GSC Paradigm Mall JB) from Sept 22 to 25; Kuching (GSC CITYONE Megamall and The Spring Mall) and Kota Kinabalu (GSC Suria Sabah) from Oct 6 to 9.
Held in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the 1982 Look East Policy, this 18th edition of the annual celebration brings the best of Japanese cinema to local audiences.
It is organised by The Japan Foundation, Kuala Lumpur.
Spanning a variety of genres – drama, romance, youth, documentary and animation – the movies in this year’s festival offer a glimpse into Japanese culture through cinematic visuals, memorable characters and inspired storytelling.
A highlight here is the Malaysian release of Daigo Matsui’s Just Remembering, a bittersweet romance story told in reverse. In this film, we meet a former dancer turned theatre lighting technician and a taxi driver, who are no longer lovers. Like life, their story is filled with happy moments, loss and regret.
Just Remembering won the audience award at last year’s Tokyo International Film Festival.
“We have lined up such a variety of titles, you wouldn’t want to miss any of them! We have some great storytelling here and think the audience will be able to find themselves in the stories through the characters they see on the screen. We might live in different countries but we share common issues and feelings, which makes it all relatable,” says Kyoko Kugai, assistant head of The Japan Foundation, Kuala
Lumpur’s cultural affairs department.
The festival opens with Anime Supremacy!, an entertaining story about the people behind anime production. Anime Supremacy! was released in May this year and has received great reviews.
Other highlights include The Fish Tale, which is based on the autobiography of a very popular ichthyologist Sakana-kun, that tells you it is alright to be different.
“The Fish Tale will only open on Sept 1 in Japan, just a week before the Japanese Film Festival in Malaysia.
“Also, Takeru Sato (of Rurouni Kenshin) and Hiroshi Abe (of The Garden Of Evening Mists )are starring in a suspenseful In The Wake, set in the aftermath of the Tohoku earthquake,” Kugai adds.
Tickets for JFF 2022 are sold at RM9.50, with the exception of Just Remembering, which will be sold at the prevailing box office price.
Tickets can be purchased one week before the first screening in each city.
All films presented will be in Japanese with English subtitles.
A complete listing of JFF film synopses, showtimes and general information is available at www. jfkl.org.my/japanese-film-festival-2022/ and www.gsc.com.my.
Here is a look at three of the films:
Anime Supremacy!
Based on a novel with the same name written by Mizuki Tsujimura and illustrated by manga artist group Clamp, this is the tale of a rookie female director who is up against stiff competition.
The TV anime industry is brutal. Will hard work, a bit of luck and a dedicated team be enough for her to emerge triumphant?
Intolerance
It is a theft gone wrong when a teenager gets killed on the street. Her father, not quite believing other people’s accounts of what happened that day, takes matters into his own hands.
His daughter’s death must be avenged and he has plenty of rage to dole out.
In the wake
Nine years after the Tohoku earthquake, two gruesome murhappen ders in Miyagi Prefecture where the victims are tied up and left to starve to death. Detective Seiichiro assumes it is the same man behind both murders and he goes after the main suspect, Tone, who has just been released from prison after serving time for arson and assault while helping a friend.