the x-pat files SCOTT GARCEAU LOVE JAPANESE FILMS?
Your perfect date starts today
For decades, The Japan Foundation, Manila (JFM) has presented the Japan Film Festival here, offering a pretty cozy hookup for local film lovers: plenty of culture, history, romance, anime, comedy and drama presented onscreen, within local cinemas houses.
But COVID has meant adaptation, and JFM has moved to a virtual film fest these past few years. But even a long-distance relationship is preferable to none, so the JFF commences today, Valentine’s Day, with some 20 screenings, discussions and panels and fan giveaways up until Feb. 27.
Still free, the online system is catered more to our at-home lifestyles, with sign-up platforms to pick and stream your chosen films to watch within 48 hours. Unlike other streaming platforms, though, JFF offers a raft of panels and discussions to enhance the filmgo- ing experience. “We want the JFF to be seamless, online, viewable at home,” says JFM director Ben Suzuki, while remaining a different experience from a subscription platform to simply watch films, such as Netflix. “It’s a different creature altogether. It’s a film festival, so we wanted to provide a platform to interact with panels, to show how viewers are enjoying the fest.”
With 20 films on the roster — including seven new Japanese films (Awake, Under the Open Sky, Ito, It’s a Summer Film!, Hido’s Cookbook, Aristocrats, Masked Ward), intriguing documentaries (The God of Ramen and Sumodo: The Sueccessors of Samurai), award-winning anime (Time of Eve, Patema Inverted), dramas (ReLIFE, Happy Flight, Her Love Boils Bathwater, Until the Break of Dawn, Ozland), classics (Rashomon, The Floating Castle), and even culinary films (The Bread of Happiness, The Chef of South Polar) — it’s even easier to sign up, pick your viewing times, and watch your chosen films (for free) within a 48-hour period.
Simply go to the JFF site (https://watch.jff.jpf.go.jp/) to create an account, then choose your films and play, or watch later at your leisure. Final viewings will close on Feb. 28. In addition, there will be online panels and discussions with critics and fans (“Let’s Talk About Japanese Films”) on Valentine’s Day, 5 p.m., and on Feb. 22; and an online campaign to post selfies (#JFFOnline2022, #JFF2022), reviews, and win fun JFF merchandise (bags, lanyards, etc.).
According to Suzuki, even if we’re still a little far apart, not quite ready to travel again to Japan, the JFF Online 2022 offers an escape. “We watch films to be entertained, to be educated, to escape from the humdrum of daily life, and to travel beyond space and time. This is at the heart of the Japanese Film Festival: to share glimpses of Japanese culture to the world, one cinematic experience at a time.”
JFF festival director Masafumi Konomi adds, “Because travel is still restricted, it will offer something you will relate to, to feel like you’re visiting Japan again.” He cites culinary films like The Bread of Happiness, shot in a hotel in Hokkeido, a winter wonderland that appeals to Filipinos; or Mio’s Cookbook, a drama set in a soba restaurant during the Edo period.
And since the festival opens on Valentine’s Day, there’s some romance to stoke viewers on Feb. 14. (Suzuki suggests ReLIFE, taken from an anime about high school and choosing a new life, as a “good Valentine’s experience.”)
But romance can encompass everything about the Japanese film experience, whether it’s the locations, the history, the food, the people or the culture. “Through the collaboration of various elements that include truth-seeking narration, exquisite cinematography, superb acting and captivating sound, films are indeed powerful vehicles for cultural exchange and bilateral relations,” says Suzuki.
Since Filipino and Japanese filmmakers have been intertwined a lot lately at the independent level, with directors like Brillante Mendoza (Gensan Punch) and Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car) tapping Filipino actors, I asked if Japan will see more of these collaborations in the future. For instance, one of the films under discussion in the two-part panel is Kita-Kita — a Filipino film shot in Japan that became the highest grossing Filipino independent film of 2017.
Konomi acknowledged that the Japan film industry has “very limited assistance” from government for such tie-ups and that the “dominant players still go the traditional way,” using local film talent. But Suzuki says he’s seen that independent films are “much more connected” these days. “This movement will become more active,” he believes, with young directors like Hamaguchi and others seeking to work with Filipino filmmakers and players.
The very essence of film is romance: it’s about discovery and the ineffable play of life. Of course, the organizers of Japan Film Festival would love to be back on the big screens, where we could all converge again. But after the success of the 2021 JFF online, they feel this version offers the most “seamless” experience for viewers who want to reignite their passion for Japanese cinema.
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To view the full list of featured films, visit https://jff.jpf.go.jp/watch/jffonline2022/philippines/. Follow the official JFM and JFF Philippines Facebook pages and social media accounts.
Leo Moon Valentine A realistic person enters relationships with the mindset that they will take work. Some would even say “hard work,” but this Leo Moon Valentine’s Day suggests we draw a line. Sure, it will get hard at some point, but shouldn’t it start out easy? Bonus points for fun, sweet, giggly, inducing or glamorous.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). You want to get to know someone but you’re not ready to reveal everything about yourself just yet. Don’t think too hard about how to proceed. It’s a dance, not a science. Feel the rhythm and go.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Realizing the implications, you are not sure if you want to jump at the opportunity for more power. Authority implies responsibility for others.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Socially, you have many options today. Don’t be discouraged by those who seem to relish creating doubt. To surround yourself with positive people is to live in sunshine.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). This isn’t a fairytale but a love story, full of magic stitched into the details with golden thread. Tend to the little things and the big picture shimmers.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Affection comes in many forms. It can feel like butterflies that accompany high hopes of connection, the pangs of longing or something similar to what you feel when you see food coming at a restaurant. It’s all good!
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Love is a verb. Today you are likely to work love, play love, dance love and speak love today. Just don’t buy love because if it’s for sale, it’s probably not love.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You’re a skilled sculptor, shaping relationships and turning them into works of art. The choices you make will define your love, and the actions you take will confirm it.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Despite knowing that the person who cares the least in the relationship has the most control, you would rather care more and submit to the wide array of feelings attachment can produce.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You will be attracted to the person who challenges you. You’ll sing the song, play the game, meet the challenge ... and then you’ll do it all over again at the next level and then the next.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). While you are inspired and impressed by people with noble qualities, it is also important to be around people who make you feel like you belong and are accepted. You’ll get the best of both worlds.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). True happiness is impossible to achieve in isolation; it is dependent upon the contentment of others. You’ll have evidence of their contentment today, fortifying your sunshine agenda.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Like every other human, you occasionally experience moments of self-doubt. Yet you show up, a beacon of competence, ready to take on the challenge. The power of your presence attracts love.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Feb. 14). You’ll shine as you influence, teach, help many and get paid. Celebrate to the hilt; you’ve long worked for this. You’ll see a happy resolution to a family problem. Your personal life gets velvety smooth, which makes all else feel good, even breathing. Also featured: Hot tickets and a brilliant investment. Leo and Pisces adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 2, 7, 1, 17 and 30.
VALENTINE THOUGHTS: How do you know it’s love? ARIES: You know it’s love when it doesn’t need a social media post or any exterior validation. TAURUS: You know it’s love when there’s no scorekeeping. If you’re on the same team, all points are team points. GEMINI: You know it’s love when the actions look and feel loving. If they don’t, it’s not. CANCER: You know it’s love when the connection often feels easy because there’s nothing to mistrust or resist. LEO: You know it’s love when you feel safe enough to be who you feel like on the inside, no pretending necessary. VIRGO: You know it’s love when the seduction was successful yet you keep on seducing. LIBRA: You know it’s love when both parties keep finding more to appreciate. SCORPIO: You know it’s love when you can count on honesty and communication. SAGITTARIUS: You know it’s love when the memories are good, but the present is better. CAPRICORN: You know it’s love when you want to be the best version of yourself for the other person. AQUARIUS: You know it’s love when your interests start to align naturally and you become invested in each other’s success. PISCES: You know it’s love when it feels risky and vulnerable because you’re letting yourself be known.