From epic fantasies to spine-tingling thrillers and avant-garde features, the 25th year of the Japanese Film Festival (JFF) will return across the country from October to December.
The programme will screen 15 films from newly-released feature titles, spanning a diverse selection of genres from action to anime, drama, documentaries and more.
“In celebration of JFF’s 25th year, we’re thrilled to return to cinemas and share the very best in Japanese cinema with Perth audiences,” Japanese Film Festival Director, Yurika Sugie says. “This year film connoisseurs can look forward to a stellar selection of contemporary works, international film festival favourites and award winners, alongside an incredible online programme.”
Hajime Hashimoto’s ‘Hokusai’ will open the festival, featuring a cast including Yuya Yagira, Hiroshi Abe and Min Tanaka.
Award-winning dramas include Chicago International Film Festival Best International Feature Audience Choice Award-winner ‘Under The Open Sky’, about a hardened ex-yakuza setting out to find his long-lost mother after 13 years behind bars, and Best International Feature Film Academy Awards submission ‘True Mothers’.
'The Deer King'
‘The Deer King’ is an epic fantasy story about a world plagued by a deadly Black Wolf disease; ‘Poupelle Of Chimney Town’ is the tale of a young chimney sweep embarking on an adventure.
Thriller lovers will enjoy. . . ‘Masked Ward’, a spine-tinglingly tense hostage thriller based on a popular medical mystery novel; ‘Al Amok’, a tech nightmare where a benevolent medical AI malfunctions; and ‘The Night Beyond The Tricornered Window’, following a crime-solving duo investigating grisly murders.
Otherwise, eye-opening sumo documentary ‘Sumodo ~ The Successors Of Samurai ~’, action-packed ‘The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn’t Kill’ and offbeat comedy ‘Not Quite Dead Yet’ are other highlight to expect throughout the festival.
JFF will also feature a free Special Series of films from influential Japan film director Shūji Terayama, as well as an online programme of films over seven days: ‘Little Nights’, ‘Little Love’, ‘Dance With Me’, ‘Tora-san in Goto’, ‘The Great Passage’ and ‘Gon, The Little Fox’.
Japanese Film Festival 2021 Dates
28 October-2 November – Palace Electric Cinema, National Film & Sound Archives (Canberra)4-7 November – Palace Raine Square (Perth)
11-21 November – Palace Barracks, Palace James Street (Brisbane)
18 November-5 December – The Kino Cinema, Australian Centre For The Moving Image (Melbourne)
25 November-5 December – Palace Cinemas Norton Street, Chauvel, Central, Verona (Sydney)
15-21 November – Online
