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3 – 12 February 2023
Ito いとみち, dir. Satoko Yokohama, Japan 2021, 166 min. Japanese with English subtitles
The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme marks its 20th edition with a celebration of Japanese cinema across the last 20 years – from much-loved masterpieces from the recent past to just-released future classics.
The theme for this year’s Touring Film Programme is The Evolution of Japanese Cinema Where has Japanese filmmaking come from? Where does it sit in today’s cinema world? And where might Japanese filmmakers head next? From veteran directors to new and emerging talent, the season features some the finest cinematic works to emerge from Japan since the first Touring Film Programme in 2004.
The Japan Foundation was founded in 1972 to promote international cultural exchange between Japan and the rest of the world, by organising projects and providing financial support through grant programmes in arts and culture, Japanese language and Japanese studies. Based in Tokyo, it has offices and centres in 24 countries worldwide.
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Established in 1972, the Japan Foundation promotes international cultural exchange between Japan and the rest of the world by organising projects as well as providing financial support through grant programmes in the fields of Arts and Culture, Japanese Language and Japanese Studies. The Japan Foundation currently has its Head Office in Tokyo, with offices and centres in 24 countries outside of Japan.
Programme:
Friday 3 February, 6.10pm
Nishikawa’s debut feature follows the return back to society of a convicted murderer after he is released from prison.
Friday 3 February, 8.50pm
Tuesday 7 February, 8.45pm
Two lost souls in Tokyo meet in a film that draws from poems by Tahi Saihate in both verse and emotions.
Saturday 4 February, 1.20pm
In a seaside town, two people meet by chance, and an accident with a falling meteorite changes their fate.
Saturday 4 February, 3.30pm
A couple meet in an underground bomb shelter. From the moment they fall in love the clock starts ticking on their time together and soon, they receive a call-up notice, leaving their fate uncertain.
Saturday 4 February, 6pm
Wednesday 8 February, 6pm
A high school girl has a fatal accident after running away from a shop manager who caught her shoplifting. The enraged father starts hunting down the ones to blame, unable to accept his loss and his daughter’s misdeed.
Saturday 4 February, 8.15pm
A message from an unknown visitor begins a chain of deaths and a long haunting.
Sunday 5 February, 1.15pm
A high school student from Aomori takes up a job in a maid cafe to support her career as a shamisen player.
Sunday 5 February, 3.45pm
Thursday 9 February, 4pm
This digitally remastered, monumental work of early Japanese cinema unfolds the greedy chase to find a pot containing the map to a treasure.
Sunday 5 February, 5.50pm
Jungo is an angry boy, and his main source of resentment is his mother. Growing up in a single-parent household, struggling to form a solid relationship with his boyfriend, he feels marginalised.
Sunday 5 February, 8.15pm
Despite his international acclaim, iconic photographer Moriyama’s methods and everyday life have been shrouded in mystery. This documentary film follows the reprint project of his debut photo book, offering an insightful glimpse on his work.
Tuesday 7 February, 6.15pm
Two lonely women, decades apart and from different backgrounds, come together to find friendship and a new sense of self.
Wednesday 8 February, 8.15pm
Saturday 11 February, 3.20pm
Thirty-one-year-old Mitsuko enjoys her not-so-lonely solo life on the surface, holding conversations in her head with her own internal adviser. But her peaceful single life takes a sudden turn after falling in love.
Thursday 9 February, 6.10pm
Sunday 12 February, 5.40pm
After receiving a letter from the worst serial killer in history, a university student learns cruel truth as he becomes consumed by the murderer’s final crime.
Thursday 9 February, 8.40pm
Friday 10 February, 8.40pm
A former criminal dives back into the yakuza underworld and the world of venture capital to make enough money to finally go straight.
Friday 10 February, 6.10pm
An artist deals with her cheating husband by writing a manga about adultery in a psychological game of cat and mouse.
Saturday 11 February, 1pm
Set in eighteenth century Japan, a small samurai clan is at crisis point when the shogunate threatens to confiscate their lands.
Saturday 11 February, 6pm
Tomoyo has lost her best friend Mariko. Caught up in a constant whirlwind of memories, she embarks on a journey with Mariko’s ashes to fulfil her friend’s dream. An emotionally challenging film depicting trauma and abuse in our modern world.
Saturday 11 February, 8pm
Two lonely souls live together in peace until one is arrested for kidnapping. Fifteen years later they meet again, all the while nursing their own pasts and painful secret.
Sunday 12 February, 1pm
The happy family is in panic. Shuzo and Tomiko have been married for fifty years. But all Tomiko wants for her birthday is a divorce. A family conference is held which only makes things even more chaotic.
Sunday 12 February, 3.20pm
A university student joins an aviation club in this rather unusual coming-of-age animation, with spectacular depictions of the sky for viewers to enjoy.
Sunday 12 February, 8.20pm
A one-time robbery job by a group of five strangers ends in success. Obtaining a great sum of money, the five are engulfed in a chaotic war between yakuza, police and politicians, all coming after their money.
no. 236848.