Every autumn the Camera Japan festival descends on Rotterdam for a long weekend, after which it transforms into a traveling festival which visits several other cities as well.
This year, on September the 24th, the festival celebrates its 10th iteration, and it does so with a larger selection than ever before: the roster has a whopping 51 films in it. The main theme this year is "Female Focus", which highlights the growing influence of women working in the Japanese film industry, independent and mainstream, and they are well-represented this year. That doesn't mean the male filmmakers have been overlooked: the schedule includes new films by Kitano Takeshi, Kore-eda Hirokazu, Kurosawa Kiyoshi, and Ishii Gakuryu.
You can check out the complete line-up on the Camera Japan website (this is the link), and even order tickets already.
Meanwhile, here is a gallery with some of the things we're really looking forward to. Please add your own in the comments, and tell us what we missed!
Even if the films do not interest you much, there is plenty to do and see at a Camera Japan festival. Though the focus is primarily on cinema, any exhibitions on Japanese culture are welcome here. There are always plenty of shopping stalls, live performances, lectures, expositions and workshops about Japanese culture as well.
This picture shows last year's market (picture courtesy of Camera Japan). Every year I end up buying more stuff than I anticipate, be it wasabi cheetos, rare DVDs, sake, books about anime, cooking knives, or green tea-flavored Kit-Kats...
Check out the festival's events webpage for more information (this is the link).
For our movie recommendations, click the sides of this image to flick though the gallery, as there sure is something for everyone this year.
Assassination Classroom
An alien arrives on Earth after having blown up the moon, and says he'll blow up Earth as well, next year, unless someone manages to murder him. To help us Earthlings a bit, he instructs a high school class on how to best kill him. Many botched attempts follow, with surprisingly poignant results.
Based on a successful manga and anime, the crazy premise translates well to live-action apparently: Andrew Mack reviewed the film earlier this year and loved it.
Journey to the Shore
A woman is reunited with her husband, who disappeared years ago and was assumed dead (and maybe he is?), and together they travel across Japan to thank the people who helped him. Kurosawa Kiyoshi's output can be hit or miss, but the word is that his latest "ghost" story is touching and fantastic.
The Scent of Pheasant’s Eye: An Episode from the Tales of Flowers
How about this for a unique screening: a silent black & white film from 1935, The Scent of Pheasant’s Eye will be shown not only with live music (which sure is special enough already), but also a live narrator, as was the tradition with films of this kind! Only ten such narrators remain worldwide, and Camera Japan has secured one.
The film itself was revolutionary and controversial at the time, as it dared to mention the subject of lesbianism.
Beyond the Boundary double bill
Alas, there is not that much anime this year at Camera Japan, but this is quite special: both films of Beyond the Boundary will be shown in straight succession. Past is a feature-length re-telling of the television anime series, and Future shows what happened with the protagonists after the series ended.
In Beyond the Boundary there is a constant battle between humans and spirit-monsters, but when a monster-hunter and a half-human half-monster become friends, uncomfortable shades of grey are introduced.
Makeup Room
Director Mirokawa Kei is a successful adult video maker, and has used his experience to film a comedy which entirely takes place in the make-up room of a porno shoot. Relentlessly spoofing the often absurd proceedings, the film stars several famous porn actresses playing themselves, sharing ridiculous anecdotes with the makeup artist.
Patryk Czekaj saw the film at Udine and loved it.
Taksu
Director (and actress) Sugino Kiki will surely have mixed feelings about Rotterdam at the moment: while she is always a revered guest at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, during this year's visit she was run over in a nasty accident which left her hospitalized for months.
Thankfully she is recovering, and there are no too-hard feelings apparently, as her award-winning film Taksu is playing here.
Taksu shows a man's slide into depression despite all efforts from his acquaintances, including a holiday on a beautiful island.
In his review, Christopher Bourne praises Sugino Kiki for being a a fascinating all-round artist, and a formidably talented filmmaker as well.
Funny note: yes, that is acclaimed film critic Tom Mes on the left, in a small supporting role. Embedded journalism!
Ryuzo and His Seven Henchmen
In Kitano Takeshi's latest comedy, an old man gets into trouble with a local gang. Unfortunately for them, he turns out to be a legendary yakuza, who summons some of his geriatric pals to kick their asses and show how it's done.
This allows director Kitano to have a lot of fun with his gangster casts of yesteryears, buddies all, who form a veritable who's-who of legendary older Japanese actors.
The Case of Hana & Alice
Eleven years ago, director Iwai Shunji released Hana & Alice, to critical and popular acclaim. His newest film is a prequel, but instead of just changing his cast (as everyone is a decade too old for playing high-schoolers now...) he opted for making an anime feature out of it.
In The Case of Hana & Alice, you see how the two friends meet, when both start investigating the mysterious disappearance of a boy in their class.
That's It
After the glorious punk madness of Burst City and Electric Dragon 80,000V, director Ishii Gakuryu announced his rebirth of sorts, and made a couple of quieter films.
Well, I don't know what happened, but he seems to be back, and madder than ever. In That's It, a young thug tries to steal gold from a gang, but ends up with something far more dangerous instead: a tape. When the gangs find out which tape is missing, it becomes the deadliest hot potato since Sadako's tape...
Our Little Sister
Few directors have the ability to move me as Kore-eda Hirokazu does, and his newest is a gentle drama about three sisters who meet a younger half-sister for the first time, and they all get along so well that they invite her to come live with them.
To say I'm looking forward to seeing this is an understatement.
Murder on D Street
A detective investigates the murder of a shop owner, and gets embroiled in a murky underworld of sado-masochism. Based on a story by the famous author Edogara Rampo.
This is going to be another special screening indeed: it starts with a lecture on Rampo's works by Dr. Luk van Haute, who is an expert on Japanese literature, an awarded translator, and one of the best interpreters I've ever met.
The Mourner
Writer/director Tsutsumi Yukihiko (of 2LDK fame) has adapted Tendo Arata's novel of the same name. It's about a man who travels all over Japan, visiting sites of murder and disaster, and mourns the victims. A woman who just left jail for murdering her husband meets the mourner and decides to follow him, contemplating the nature of life, guilt and forgiveness.