This goes out to readers who are in the region this side of the world - one of the longest running film festivals in Singapore, the Japanese Film Festival, is slated to run from August 19-29. Presented by The Embassy of Japan and the Singapore Film Society, this edition will comprise of 31 local premieres of groundbreaking Japanese classics, independent cinema and award winning titles that offer a rare glimpse into the Japanese film history, its culture and its filmmakers' commentaries on the joys and perils of YOUTH, the festival's theme this year.
The showcase for 2010 includes:
1. Works of directors who led the revolutionary change in the 1960s which became known as the Japanese New Wave - a major turning point in the history of Japanese cinema, celebrating the works of OSHIMA Nagisa through his acclaimed works like Boy, Diary of a Shinjuku Thief, Sing a Song of Sex and Sinner in Paradise. Other works in this showcase include YOSHIDA Yoshishige's Good for Nothing and Bloody Thirst, IMAMURA Shohei's Hogs and Warships and A Man Vanishes, SHINODA Masahiro's A Flame at the Pier and ICHIKAWA KON's Ototo.
2. Works by young, aspiring directors birthed from 2 current initiatives in Japan:
a. PIA Film Festival selections from its 14th to 17th scholarship films which include A Stranger of Mine, Water Flower, Fourteen, ASYL and Mime-Mime.
b. The Visual Industry Promotion Organisation's New Directions in Japanese Cinema (VIPO NDJC) program, which will feature 10 short films from 2007 and 2008.
3. The latest from Japanese filmmakers who are blazing a trail in the international film circuit, which includes KORE-EDA Hirokazu's Air Doll (err, yeah, finally on the big screen here!), Live Tape by MATSUE Tetsuaki (who was in Singapore for the festival's 2008 edition), YOSHIDA Kota's Yuriko's Aroma, NAKAMURA Yoshihiro's Fish Story, MIYANO Masayuki's LALAPIPO and YOKOHAMA Satoko's Bare Essence of Life.
For those who can't get enough of Japanese films AND are in Singapore or its neighboring regions, you may want to pop right by and feast your eyes on the selection. Anyone here watched any of the films and want to make a recommendation?
Related Links
Official Festival Website with information about ticket sales, films, schedules and other Festival news and updates
YouTube