2009 Japanese Film Festival

How would you like to unwind and think as well about taking steps to strengthen the cultural bridge of friendship, understanding, and peace?

Organized by the Consular Office of Japan in Cebu, together with Japan Foundation Manila and in cooperation with the Japanese Association in Cebu, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Cebu, Inc, and the Ayala Center, 8 films have been lined up for showing at Cinema 4 of Ayala Center, from July 28 (Tuesday) to August 2 (Sunday).

Everyone is invited to this 6-day free Japanese Film Festival!

Except for one film that was shot in Helsinki, Finland, this year’s films will take the audience through various places in Japan: Tokyo, Fukuoka,Nagasaki, Kyoto, among others. The films will also show Japan across the years to the viewers, from post-war to contemporary period. One film even takes the viewers to the future!

Mark these dates and the films to be shown then during this year’s Japanese Film Festival at Ayala Center’s Cinema 4 as follows:

July 28 – Tuesday - (7 pm)ALWAYS, Sunset on Third Street

July 29 – Wednesday - (7 pm)THE MILKWOMAN

July 30 – Thursday - (7 pm)TURN OVER

July 31 – Friday - (7 pm)TONY TAKITANI

Aug   1 – Saturday - (4 pm)MIND GAME; (7 pm)MEMORIES OF TOMORROW

Aug 2   Sunday (4 pm)KAMOME Diner;  (7 pm)MEMORIES OF MATSUKO

The first film, Always Sunset on Third Street (Always Sen-chome no yuhi) takes place in post-war Tokyo, 1958. The film shows how Hoshino Mutsuko, a new graduate from junior high school, arrives in Tokyo to take a new job at a major automotive company. The film was based on a 1974 comic by Saigan Ryohei that rode on the theme of a nostalgia boom for 1950s Japan and which became a box-office hit. The viewers will also see how other Japanese, aside from Hoshino, struggled to better themselves as Japan also moved beyond the shadow of war.

The 2nd film, The Milkwoman ( Itsuka Dokusho Suru Hi) brings the audience to present-day Nagasaki and focuses on the life and love relationship of Oba Minako, a 50ish single woman, who leads a quiet life, working at a supermarket and delivering milk locally. This film won the Special Grand Jury Prize at the Montreal Film Festival in 2005 and was also nominated for seven other awards.

Moving on, the 3rd film, Turn Over-An Angel is Coming on a Bicycle (Futari Biyori) captures the essence of the old films shot in Kyoto and in 2006, won the award for best editing at the Mainichi Concour Awards. The film shows how the lives of an elderly couple, Kuroyoshi Gen and Chie who live in an old neighborhood of Kyoto get intertwined with Shunsuke, a young university science student, who does magic tricks for the neighborhood children. Artists among the viewers may wish to see Gen as a traditional artisan who designs patterns and kimonos for Shinto priests.

Tony Takitani , the 4th film, takes on the story of a Japanese boy embarrassed about having been given an American name. The film is the only third feature-film rendition of a novel by Haruki Murakami, arguably Japan’s most famous contemporary novelist. The setting takes the audience back to Tokyo in the decade after World War 2.

Please note that there are 2 films to be shown on August 1 and 2!

The 5th film to be shown on Saturday, August 1 is entitled the MIND GAME that introduces Robin Nishi, a struggling manga artist and his adventures , including his after-life and back-to his-present life experiences.

The 6th film, Memories of Tomorrow ( Ashita no Kioku), also to be shown on the same day but at 7pm, shows how Saeki Masayuki loses his memory little by little due to Alzheimer’s disease. In this film that shows Tokyo within the year 2004-2010, award-winning actor Ken Watanabe (the Last Samurai) acquired the rights to the novel and selected Tsutsumi Yukihiko who was awarded Best Director at the 2003 Philadelphia Film Festival for 2LDK.

Two films will also be shown on Sunday, August 2.

The 7th, Kamome Diner (Kamome Shokudo) was entirely filmed in Finland, which is known in Japan mostly for Tove Jansson’s Moomin characters and as a land that is relaxed, natural and a bit magical. The film shows revolves around a diner ran by a Japanese woman named Sachie and the struggles and friendships she develops with customers of her “shokudo”- her diner.

Finally, Memories of Matsuko (Kiraware Matsuko no Issho), the 8th film to be shown at 7pm, Sunday evening, takes the audience to Fukuoka, Tokyo and other parts of Japan between 1955 and 2001. The film, which on the surface, is a celebration of spectacle and technology, really centers on the memories of Matsuko that takes place within an urban setting amidst yakuza, porn stars, and pop. Director Nakashima Tetsuya created a visually stunning and colorful world that he filled with music and dance!

For more information, call the Consular Offfice of Japan in Cebu. Happy Viewing!

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