Japanese Film Festival 2017 Program Booklet Sydney Melbourne by The Japan Foundation, Sydney

Pro gram Sydney 16-26 Nov Melbourne 23-03 Nov-Dec

About Welcome to the 21st Japanese Film Festival! We’re excited to bring you the best Japanese cinema of 2017. This year’s program shares a spectrum of emotions and human experiences, and boldly delves into new territory for Japanese cinema. Sensitive portrayals of modern families and stories of diversity, acceptance, and resilience sit alongside old favourites of action, mystery, and comedy. The JFF is presented by The Japan Foundation, Sydney and tours major cities and regional centres across Australia. Thank you to our delightful audiences, generous sponsors, and wonderful volunteers for 21 years of Japanese cinema! We hope you enjoy this year’s JFF.

Partners Presented by

Premium Partners

Major Partners

Cultural Partners

Government Partners

Japanese Film Festival team Embassy of Japan in Australia Consulate-General of Japan in Melbourne Consulate-General of Japan in Sydney Consulate-General of Japan in Brisbane Consulate-General of Japan in Perth

Venue Partners

JFF is part of the Japanese Film Festival Asia Pacific Gateway. Media Partners

@japanesefilmfest @japanfilmfest #jffau2017 japanesefilmfestival.net Design kevinvo.com.au

FBi RADIO

Local Partners

Opening Film

Mumon: The Land of Stealth

忍びの国

Director: Yoshihiro Nakamura 2017 • 125mins Under 15s must be accompanied by an adult

Explosive action and razor sharp comedy mixed with stealthy political intrigue Mumon (Satoshi Ohno of Arashi) is lazy—but he’s also the deadliest ninja in Iga province. When he’s hired to kill a member of a rival ninja family, he unknowingly triggers a merciless battle with Nobunaga Oda’s samurai forces, pressuring Iga to fight for freedom. With no reward money and their lives at stake, many of the ninjas attempt a stealthy retreat. Will Mumon flee for his life— or fight ‘til his death?

ACTION

Ancien and the Magic Tablet

ひるね姫～知らないワタシの物語～ Director: Kenji Kamiyama 2017 • 110mins All ages

An adventure through dreams and reality In Kokone’s dreams she is the sorcerer princess Ancien. With the aid of a magic tablet, she can bring inanimate objects to life. In real life, Kokone should be studying for her exams. But when her father Momotaro is suddenly thrown into jail, school becomes the least of her worries! Guided by her dreams, she sets off to save her dad.

In this Corner of the World

この世界の片隅に

Director: Sunao Katabuchi 2016 • 129mins Under 15s must be accompanied by an adult

A captivating coming-of-age tale set in turbulent times In 1944, 18-year-old Suzu goes to Kure City in Hiroshima Prefecture to wed naval officer Shusaku Hojo. As the intensity of the war heightens day after day and food supplies dwindle, Suzu manages to resolutely carry on with daily life through her ingenuity, that is, until the summer of 1945. Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2017 - Jury Award

ANIME

Kiseki -Sobito of that Day-

SATOSHI -A Move for Tomorrow-

キセキーあの日のソビトー

聖の青春

Director: Atsushi Kaneshige 2017 • 111mins

Director: Yoshitaka Mori 2016 • 124mins

Recommended for ages 12+

Music can make miracles happen

More than just a game.

Kiseki is an uplifting true story of the band GReeeeN—dentists by day and anonymous chart-topping music artists by night. After recording in their producer Jin’s closet, their songs went on to dominate music charts. Dubbed as the “Japanese Daft Punk” of J-pop, their phenomenal success is surprising in an industry where face value precedes talent. Starring highly sought-after actors Tori Matsuzaka and Masaki Suda.

A biopic about Satoshi Murayama, a talented and passionate shogi (Japanese chess) player who died of bladder cancer at age 29. Portrayed by Kenichi Matsuyama with great intensity, Satoshi spends the last four years of his life in the public eye, competing professionally to be the grand champion. Away from the limelight, he fights a different struggle, keeping his terminal illness a secret from everybody.

BIOGRAPHICAL

A Beautiful Star

Hamon: Yakuza Boogie

美しい星

破門ふたりのヤクビョーガミ

Director: Yoshida Daihachi 2017 • 127mins

Director: Syoutarou Kobayashi 2017 • 120mins

Under 15s must be accompanied by an adult

Strictly 18+

Earthlings don’t deserve this beautiful planet

Scum. That’s what they are.

Placid TV weatherman Shigeichiro Osugi goes missing, only to resurface hours later, declaring himself a Martian emissary from the League of Solar Planets. Uncannily, his son (Kazuya Kamenashi of KAT-TUN) and daughter undergo their own extraterrestrial awakening at the same time. Amidst threats posed by climate change and sinister politics between other Solar League members, the Osugis must support each other to help humans protect Earth’s beauty.

COMEDY

Unlike his yakuza dad, Ninomiya (Yu Yokoyama of Kanjani∞) doesn’t have what it takes to be a gangster. Instead, he’s stuck as a small-fry loanshark for boss-man Shimizu and angry henchman Kuwahara. When a movie investment goes wrong, Kuwahara drags Ninomiya in a cat-andmouse chase to recover the stolen money. Hamon is not your regular hard-boiled action comedy—expect witty dialogue and fewer slapstick gags.

Teiichi -Battle of Supreme High-

Tori Girl

帝一の國

トリガール!

Director: Akira Nagai 2017 • 118mins

Director: Tsutomu Hanabusa 2017 • 98mins

Recommended for ages 12+

Out-smart, out-bribe, out-last: Teiichi for student council president!

Altitude meets attitude

A story of power and deceit set not in the arena of politics, but in an exclusive boys’ high school! Kaitei High is a strictly regimented incubator school for future politicians. Its student council is an extreme and Machiavellian world which Teiichi Akaba needs to conquer if he’s to become Prime Minister one day. He prepares to do whatever it takes, casting his pride—and (quite literally) his inhibitions—away.

COMEDY

Yukina has always been the go-with-theflow type. Frustratingly, she drifts into a second-rate university where everybody is a bespectacled geek. During O-Week, she meets Kei, a cute upperclassman, who recruits her into the nerdiest club in school, the Human-powered Aircraft Society. Their goal? To fly a bicyclepowered DIY airplane over Lake Biwa at the annual Birdman Rally.

My Uncle

Survival Family

ボクのおじさん

サバイバル・ファミリー

Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita 2016 • 110mins

Director: Shinobu Yaguchi 2017 • 117mins

All ages

Recommended for ages 12+

The adventures of 8-yearold Yukio and his favourite useless uncle

A post-apocalyptic comedy for the whole family

Yukio is faced with writing a class assignment about a family member. After a few false starts, he settles on his eccentric, freeloading uncle—a part-time philosophy lecturer who spends most days lazing at home, quoting Kant, and secretly reading comic books. When the uncle meets Eri, a beautiful JapaneseAmerican photographer, it’s love at first sight. But Eri returns to Hawaii, setting Yukio and his besotted uncle off on a transpacific adventure.

COMEDY

The Suzukis are a self-indulgent family who squirm at the sight of dead fish. When Tokyo abruptly loses all forms of electricity, they find themselves trapped in a city slicker’s first-world nightmare. Hilariously unfit and scarily unprepared, the Suzukis hop on their pushbikes to escape the pandemonium and reluctantly head to grandpa’s farm in Kagoshima.

Before We Vanish

Birds Without Names

散歩する侵略者

彼女がその名を知らない鳥たち

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa 2017 • 129mins

Director: Kazuya Shiraishi 2017 • 123mins

Under 15s must be accompanied by an adult

They already walk among us and their plans for human extinction are afoot

There are no limits in the pursuit of love

Three aliens have taken over human bodies to gather intel on Earth for a full-scale invasion. They start decoding human behaviour by robbing people of concepts which govern our subsconscious and leaving a spiritual void. In an age drowned by novelty news and indifference, will anybody notice the invaders before it’s too late? Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s lowtension sci-fi film takes a unique spin on the alien invasion story. Cannes Film Festival 2017 - Official Selection

CRIME & MYSTERY

Towako is a despicable woman—she lives off Jinji’s meagre earnings while treating him like a worthless slug. Despite Jinji’s absolute devotion, she constantly reminisces about her ex-boyfriend, Shunichi, even cheating with other men who evoke her memories of him. When she finds out that Shunichi has been missing for five years she suspects Jinji may know more than he lets on. Fresh off Toronto International Film Festival, this visceral tale of lust, devotion and redemption is not to be missed. Toronto International Film Festival 2017 - Official Selection

Gukoroku - Traces of Sin

Rage

愚行録

怒り

Director: Kei Ishikawa 2017 • 120mins

Director: Sang-il Lee 2016 • 142mins

Strictly 18+

Foolish acts can have dangerous repercussions

A complex drama and murder mystery that will keep you guessing, and doubting, until the very end

Investigative journalist Tanaka is going through a tough time trying to support his younger sister Mitsuko, recently arrested and on hold in jail. An investigative reporter, he immerses himself into a story about a shocking murder case gone cold. To distract himself, he immerses himself in the cold case murder of the Takou family who were brutally murdered a year ago. As he interviews friends and former colleagues of the deceased, he uncovers a vicious web of elitist social circles. Venice Film Festival 2016 - Orizzonti Competition

CRIME & MYSTERY

The perpetrator in a gruesome homicide altered his appearance with plastic surgery and has been on the run ever since. Rage follows the lives of three individuals whose identities are shrouded in mystery: a dock worker in Chiba prefecture, a gay male prostitute in Tokyo, and a backpacker in Okinawa. Lee Sang-il directs a star-studded cast, featuring Go Ayano, Satoshi Tsumabuki and Ken Watanabe, and cleverly intertwines multiple storylines to tell a story of love and madness, trust and betrayal. Toronto International Film Festival 2016 - Official Selection

Memoirs of a Murderer

22年目の告白―私が殺人犯です― Director: Yu Irie 2017 • 117mins Strictly 18+

A killer’s confession resurrects a detective’s anguish Twenty-two years ago, a serial killer terrorised Tokyo. With the statute of limitations long expired, a self-confessed murderer boldly launches a chilling memoir of the grisly crimes. While he sadistically taunts case detective and surviving witnesses on the media circuit, the plot thickens.

Love and Other Cults

獣道

Director: Eiji Uchida 2017 • 94mins

Special Guest Session Melbourne 2 Dec Film screening followed by Q&A with guests

Strictly 18+

The underbelly of teenage relationships This gritty coming-of-age film explores the lives of Japan’s marginalized youth and their search for belonging. Abused by those she wants to trust and love, the young and estranged Ai struggles to find solid ground as she drifts from gang to gang. Love and Other Cults shows the darker side of human relationships in power struggles.

Eiji Uchida (Director, Scriptwriter)

Sairi Ito (Lead Actor)

New York Asian Film Festival 2017, Fantasia International Film Festival 2017 - In Competition Adam Torel (Producer)

CRIME & MYSTERY

CULT & INDIE

Antiporno

Snow Woman

アンチポルノ

雪女

Director: Sion Sono 2017 • 78mins

Director: Kiki Sugino 2016 • 96mins

Strictly 18+

Under 15s must be accompanied by an adult

A subversive arthouse film that tackles the patriarchy head-on

Enigmatic, hypnotic and electrifying

Kyoko may be an emerging artist brimming with self-confidence and entitlement, but she often falls into a slump. She vents her frustration through her assistant Noriko with demeaning, often sexually abusive, punishments in front of guests. Layered like a matryoshka doll, Antiporno reveals a self-reflexive commentary on film. Created as part of the Roman Porno Reboot Project, controversial filmmaker Sion Sono delivers an anarchistic, radical and beautiful film that breaks all barriers.

Stranded deep in the woods, Minokichi witnesses his ageing mentor’s life taken away by a ghostly snow woman. Years later, he meets the beautiful Yuki, a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to the spirit. The coincidence is not lost on Minokichi but he is drawn to her mesmerising beauty. Told with a nonlinear storyline, director/ writer/actress Kiki Sugino puts a spin on an ancient Japanese folklore to create an alternate reality where antiquity and modernity co-exist. Tokyo International Film Festival 2016 - In Competition

CULT & INDIE

Short Film Collection This year, JFF introduces a short film program showcasing works by three emerging directors in Japanese cinema. All three films will be presented in a single film session. One ticket, three films, ninety minutes.

Dad’s Wedding

父の結婚

Director: Momoko Fukuda 2016 • 30mins Recommended for ages 12+

When Aoko visits the family home, she expects to meet her step-mother for the first time. Instead she meets her widowed father wearing her late mother’s cooking apron. Marrying humour and solemnity in perfect harmony, Dad’s Wedding by young director Momoko Fukuda is a testament to the Japanese government initiative, ‘New Directions in Japanese Cinema’ (NDJC) Project. Shot in 35mm film. Supported by

SHORT FILMS

We’re Shooting a Movie

戦場へ、インターン Director: Raita Yabushita 2017 • 30mins Recommended for ages 12+

Film set intern Reiko halts the car of a distressed mother in labour. Meanwhile, Mai is struggling to shoot the most important scene with little help from a unaccommodating director. We’re Shooting a Movie was produced under the Japanese government’s ‘New Directions in Japanese Cinema’ (NDJC) Project. Shot in 35mm film. Supported by

highheels - a fairy

tale born of obsession

ハイヒール〜こだわりが生んだおとぎ話 Director: Inchul Lee 2017 • 30mins

Recommended for ages 12+

Kai is an android shoemaker who has begun to feel a humanlike obsession towards its craft. When an android customer requests a perfectlyfitting pair of shoes, Kai dedicates itself to creating the perfect pair of high heels. After many attempts, the shoes are completed but one of the shoes doesn’t quite fit.

The Tokyo Night Sky is Always the Densest Shade of Blue

夜空はいつでも最高密度の青色だ

Special Guest Session Sydney 25 Nov Melbourne 26 Nov Film screening followed by Q&A with guests

Yuya Ishii (Director, Scriptwriter)

DRAMA

Director: Yukiko Mishima 2017 • 127mins

An honest and nuanced portrait of stepfamilies

Under 15s must be accompanied by an adult

In the vast Tokyo metropolis, an uneasy loneliness and isolation pervades. Mika is a jaded nurse by day, a bar employee by night; while Shinji is a philosophical, compulsive talker who ekes out a living as a construction worker. In a city of ten million, they continually cross paths under the perpetually sombre Tokyo night sky— and repeatedly, clumsily push each other way. But maybe, their encounters will spark a faint glow of promise.

幼な子われらに生まれ

Under 15s must be accompanied by an adult

Director: Yuya Ishii 2017 • 108mins

A modern day romance between imperfect people

Dear Etranger

Berlin International Film Festival 2017 - Official Selection

Shinichi is a model father, always leaving the office on the dot to spend time with his two stepdaughters Kaoru and Eri. But the delicate balance is thrown off when his wife announces that she’s pregnant. Kaoru starts rebelling, and to his despair he loses his managerial position. Dear Etranger is a realistic human drama directed by Yukiko Mishima and stars veteran actor Tadanobu Asano.

Montreal World Film Festival 2017 - Special Grand Prix of the Jury Award

Mukoku

Over the Fence

武曲

オーバー・フェンス

Director: Kazuyoshi Kumakiri 2017 • 125mins

Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita 2016 • 112mins

Strictly 18+

Under 15s must be accompanied by an adult

The way of the sword has no room for fear and ego

Falling in love and getting hurt— and falling in love again

Kengo (Go Ayano) grew up knowing nothing but kendo. Under his father’s strict training, Kengo went on to win awards and became a coach for the local kendo team. But it was never enough. After a training accident left his father in a vegetative state, Kengo gives up the sword. He spends his days racked by guilt and trapped in his own fears—until Hada, a young kendo trainee, challenges him to pick up the sword once again.

Following a traumatic divorce, Shiraiwa returns to his hometown of Hakodate. He attends a vocational school and spends his weekends in solitude, occasionally hanging out with an odd bunch of sleazy retirees and smooth-talking young men from school. When he meets the eccentric Satoshi, something clicks—is it mere physical attraction or her enigmatic personality? Over the Fence realistically captures relationships and the emotional baggage that can come with them.

DRAMA

Her Love Boils Bathwater

ReLIFE

湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛

ReLIFE リライフ

Director: Ryota Nakano 2016 • 125mins

Director: Takeshi Furusawa 2017 • 120mins

Recommended for ages 12+

A tale of a mother’s fierce love and a family’s enduring spirit

Do you want a second chance at life?

Single mother Futaba already grapples with the challenge of raising her adolescent daughter Azumi, but now she is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Plunging ahead, Futaba ties up loose ends to secure Azumi’s future and starts by tracking down her ex-husband Kazuhiro. When the family reunites, Futaba announces that they’ll revive the family’s disused public bathhouse. This award-winning film looks at the breakdown of family relations and the enduring spirit that endeavours to keep them intact.

DRAMA

Arata Kaizaki was once a promising new graduate but remains unemployed at 27-years-old. One night, a mysterious researcher offers him a paid position in the ReLIFE Program, involving a pill that reverts the body back to a teenage appearance. Arata declines out of suspicion, but when he wakes up the next morning his stubble is gone and he no longer looks like a jaded 20-something.

Close-Knit

High Heels Revolution!

彼らが本気で編むときは、

ハイヒール革命

Director: Naoko Ogigami 2017 • 127mins

Director: Yo Kohatsu 2016 • 73mins

All ages

Recommended for ages 12+

A story of family, acceptance and transgender identity

Changing genders and changing minds

Fifth-grader Tomo is used to a life of chaos. Abandoned by her mother, she moves in with her uncle and his live-in partner Rinko, a transgender woman, who showers her with the love and motherly affection she never received. As their unconventional family grows closer, Tomo starts to see society’s discrimination against Rinko. Close-Knit is a sensitive and heart-warming drama. Berlin International Film Festival 2017 Teddy Jury Award Winner; Panorama Audience Award 2nd Place

From a young age, Natsuki knew she was a girl despite her biological sex. Against the backdrop of conservative Japanese society, this poignant docudrama tells her remarkable story of gender transition. Reflecting on her high school years, Natsuki interviews the supportive friends and family who supported her choices – and also confronts the people those who oppressed her freedom. Tracing Natsumi’s story to the present, this compelling portrait of gender identity in contemporary Japan offers insights of a layered experience in a complex society.

DRAMA

DOCUDRAMA

Special Guest Session A Double Life

二重生活

Sydney 17 Nov Film screening followed by Q&A with guests

Director: Yoshiyuki Kishi 2016 • 126mins Under 15s must be accompanied by an adult

What is existence in contemporary Japan? Tama is struggling to find a direction for her Philosophy thesis so her professor suggests she follows a single subject and observe them in secret. She hesitantly picks a stranger at a bookstore and quickly discovers his secret affairs. Intrigued, she tails him obsessively at the expense of her own relationships. Vladivostok “Pacific Meridian” Film Festival 2016 - Best Director Award & Best Actress Awards; Raindance Film Festival 2016, New York Asian Film Festival 2017 - In Competition

DRAMA

Yoshiyuki Kishi (Director, Scriptwriter)

Mugi Kadowaki (Lead Actor)

Flower and Sword

Life and Death on the Shore

花戦さ

海辺の生と死

Director: Tetsuo Shinohara 2017 • 127mins

Director: Michio Koshikawa 2017 • 155mins

Recommended for ages 12+

Under 15s must be accompanied by an adult

Is the flower indeed mightier than the sword?

A deep and meditative portrait of love during war

Senko Ikenobo, a joyful young monk, shows virtuoso talent with his astonishingly beautiful but unusual ikebana (flower arrangements). When the free-spirited Senko is promoted to head monk, he continues to use ikebana to inspire the community. Whilst Japan is enjoying a period of peace and flourishing culture and arts, tensions arise when the new regent Hideyoshi Toyotomi metes out severe punishments. It is up to Senko to confront Toyotomi—armed only with flowers and Buddhist teachings.

1945. Manila has fallen and Tokyo is burning. Life in Kakeromajima remains undisturbed but soldiers continue to arrive, concealing Shinyo suicide boats within the island. Amidst uncertainties as the war closes in, love blossoms between local schoolteacher Toé and young captain Saku. They’re unsure as to what the future holds, but they both know that the war that brought them together can only bring an ill-fated end.

PERIOD

In Japanese and Amami language, with English subtitles

Midnight Diner 2

Neko Atsume House

続・深夜食堂

ねこあつめの家

Director: Joji Matsuoka 2016 • 108mins

Director: Masatoshi Kurakata 2017 • 92mins

All ages

Sharing soup, stirring stories

Sometimes you’ve just gotta paw-se for thought

A man called ‘Master’ begins his day as others end theirs; opening his small restaurant from midnight until seven in the morning. In this second movie instalment of the popular Midnight Diner series, we meet fresh characters and explore new challenges. As these Tokyoites pore over their worries, watch Master serve up homely delights and timely life advice that will leave your heart—and stomach—hungry for more.

SLICE OF LIFE

Masaru has passed his prime as a bestselling novelist. Facing lukewarm editorial feedback and terrible reader reviews, he makes a getaway to the countryside in hopes that the quiet serenity will help him overcome his writer’s block. After a visit from a curious cat, Sakumoto finds himself spending more time and money to transform his backyard into cat heaven. Neko Atsume House is based on the popular mobile phone game of the same name.

Her Sketchbook

世界は今日から君のもの Director: Masaya Ozaki 2017 • 106mins

Special Guest Session Sydney 18 Nov Film screening followed by Q&A with the guest

All ages

The whimsical adventures of a hikikomori Mami is a hikikomori, a shut-in who rarely leaves home and prefers to keep to herself. At home, she escapes reality by immersing herself in copying comic book illustrations. Her worried single father finds her a job testing video games. When her colleague discovers her talent for drawing, she receives an offer to design video game characters. Featuring Mugi Kadowaki, this comingof-age film shines a light on those who have chosen to withdraw from society.

SLICE OF LIFE

Masaya Ozaki (Director)

Closing Film

Radiance

光

Director: Naomi Kawase 2017 • 102mins Recommended for ages 12+

Beyond loss, there is beauty and hope Misako is a passionate writer who composes audio guides of films made for the visually impaired. At a test screening of her latest project, she meets Nakamori, a partially sighted photographer, who criticises her audio descriptions as overly subjective. Despite a conflicted first encounter, she is slowly drawn to him. Nakamori’s photographs evoke memories of her past; while Misako’s presence anchors Nakamori to the reality of the present. Together they discover a radiant world invisible to the naked eye. Cannes Film Festival 2017 - Prize of the Ecumenical Jury

ROMANCE

Vision and subversion: the works of avant-garde filmmaker Seijun Suzuki

Carmen from Kawachi

河内カルメン

Branded to Kill

1966 • 89mins • B&W

殺しの烙印

Strictly 18+

野獣の青春

1967 • 91mins • B&W

Cheerful Tsuyuko is on her way home from a romantic rendezvous when malicious admirers abduct and take advantage of her. After her return home, her devastation intensifies when she finds her mother sleeping with the local priest in exchange for money. Disturbed by nightmarish memories of those recent events, she flees to Osaka where she wanders through a series of jobs and partners, each stranger than the last. Suzuki’s buttonpushing Carmen from Kawachi starts out like a misogynistic comedy. However, patient viewers are rewarded as it quickly transforms into a subversive critique of patriarchy and gender politics.

1963 • 91mins • Colour

Strictly 18+

Yakuza hitman ‘Number 3’ opens a maelstrom of gunplay and bloodshed after botching an assassination. The ill-fated protagonist is caught between his treacherous (perpetually naked) wife, a cool femme fatale obsessed with death, and the ominous threat of the ‘Number 1’ hitman. Suzuki’s anarchic cult treasure is packed with self-reflexive noir, gangster and B-movie genre clichés, revealing his sharp social commentary with a slick 60’s pop art aesthetic.

CLASSICS

Youth of the Beast

Strictly 18+

With the police chief’s recent murder, noone is to be trusted. New mobster in town Jo Mizuno plays out ambivalent dealings with the police, while doublecrossing opposing gangs, leaving viewers wondering if he’s an undercover cop or motivated by yakuza plunders. Watchable, stylish and highly entertaining, Youth of the beast signals a defining moment in Suzuki’s long line-up of B-movies, with edgy voyeuristic camera angles and intelligent themes that push the boundaries of the genre.

Free admission. All films are in 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. Sydney 1-25 Oct (Art Gallery of NSW). Melbourne 24 Nov-3 Dec (ACMI). See japanesefilmfestival.net for the full program, schedule and ticketing details. Sydney will also show The Bastard and Detective Bureau: Down with the Wicked.

Tokyo Drifter

Fighting Elegy

東京流れ者

けんかえれじい

1966 • 83mins • Colour

1966 • 86mins • B&W

Strictly 18+

Tetsu seeks to leave the world of crime behind when his yakuza group disbands, but when a rival gang boss fails to recruit him, he’s quickly swallowed into the underworld once more. Punctuated by the film’s jazz theme, performed by ethereal siren Chiharu, the torrent of violence is staged in classic landscapes, wild night clubs and the dystopian minimal dens of evil honchos.

Suzuki blends action and satire in this film, set in the 1930s, about a youth spent without regrets. Kiroku is torn between his instinct to fight and his love for the village beauty, Michiko. To vent his frustrations, he takes part in street brawls with a gang of local students. When he lands himself in trouble with the drill officer at school, where military exercises are compulsory, he is forced to transfer to a high school 700km away.

Zigeunerweisen

ツィゴイネルワイゼン 1980 • 145mins • Colour Strictly 18+

Mysteries and riddles abound in this unusual film set in the Taisho era (1912-1926), also called Japan’s ‘Jazz Age’, a time when democracy almost prevailed before the militarist tide of Showa (1926-1989) took over. It weaves an intricate story of love, hatred and suspicion between two friends, a professor and a wanderer. Suzuki transcends genre filmmaking with this independent production, incorporating experimental narratives and intellectual characters. Zigeunerweisen received an honourable mention at the 31st Berlinale.

Venues and Ticketing Festival Dates and Venues Sydney

Melbourne

16–26 November

23 November– 03 December

Event Cinemas George Street

Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)

Hoyts Melbourne Central Melbourne Central Shopping Centre

Box office open 10am-5pm (03) 8663 2583

Box office open 10:30am-8:30pm 1300 357 357

505-525 George St Sydney NSW

Federation Square Melbourne VIC

Box office open 10am-9:30pm (02) 9273 7300

Ticket Prices

Save with a 5 Film pass! $18.50

Adult

$15.50

Concession 5 Film Pass*

$75

†

Group Bookings (10+)

Cnr Swanston & Latrobe St Melbourne VIC

†

$13.50

*Save money when you book 5 tickets in one transaction. Share with friends or mix and match film sessions for yourself. †

Excludes Opening Film and Special Events. Available only via box office and all sessions/ tickets must be purchased in one transaction.

Buy your tickets

Festival enquiries

Online japanesefilmfestival.net

The Japan Foundation, Sydney (02) 8239 0055 japanesefilmfestival@jpf.org.au

(Booking fees may apply)

Box Office

Please call or visit the cinema box office.

The JFF also tours:

Canberra 13–22 October Brisbane 25–29 October

Adelaide 19–22 October Perth 01–05 November

Event Cinemas George Street

Sydney 16–26 November Date

Time

16 Nov • Thu 19:15 17 Nov • Fri 17 Nov • Fri 17 Nov • Fri

18:00 18:30 20:15

English Title

Japanese Title

Genre

Mumon: The Land of Stealth

忍びの国

ACTION

Over the Fence

A Double Life

Kiseki -Sobito of that Day-

オーバー・フェンス

二重生活

キセキーあの日のソビトーねこあつめの家

18 Nov • Sat 11:00

Neko Atsume House

18 Nov • Sat 15:10

Her Sketchbook

世界は今日から君のもの

18 Nov • Sat 17:40 18 Nov • Sat 20:10

Birds Without Names

18 Nov • Sat 13:00 18 Nov • Sat 15:20 18 Nov • Sat 18:10

Teiichi -Battle of Supreme High-

帝一の國

Tori Girl

トリガール!

Hamon: Yakuza Boogie

破門ふたりのヤクビョーガミ

A Beautiful Star

美しい星

DRAMA

BIOGRAPHICAL SLICE OF LIFE COMEDY

SLICE OF LIFE COMEDY COMEDY COMEDY

MYSTERY

Gukoroku - Traces of Sin

彼女がその名を知らない鳥たち

愚行録

CRIME

18 Nov • Sat 20:40

High Heels Revolution!

ハイヒール革命

DOCUDRAMA

19 Nov • Sun 11:00

Ancien and the Magic Tablet

ひるね姫～知らないワタシの物語～ ANIME

19 Nov • Sun 13:15

In This Corner of the World

18 Nov • Sat 20:30

19 Nov • Sun 11:15

Flower and Sword

花戦さ

PERIOD

19 Nov • Sun 13:45

Her Love Boils Bathwater

湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛

DRAMA

19 Nov • Sun 15:50

ReLIFE

ReLIFE リライフ

Close-Knit

彼らが本気で編むときは、

DRAMA

19 Nov • Sun 16:15 19 Nov • Sun 18:15

Life and Death on the Shore

海辺の生と死

Before We Vanish

散歩する侵略者

Mumon: The Land of Stealth

MSYTERY

忍びの国

ACTION

19 Nov • Sun 18:40 19 Nov • Sun 18:45 20 Nov • Mon 18:00

Tori Girl

この世界の片隅に

トリガール!

ANIME

DRAMA PERIOD

COMEDY

20 Nov • Mon 18:15

A Double Life

二重生活

DRAMA

21 Nov • Tue 18:00

High Heels Revolution!

ハイヒール革命

DOCUDRAMA

21 Nov • Tue 19:35

Survival Family

サバイバル・ファミリー

21 Nov • Tue 18:15

Over the Fence

オーバー・フェンス

DRAMA

COMEDY

Date

English Title

Japanese Title

Genre

22 Nov • Wed 18:00

Teiichi -Battle of Supreme High-

帝一の國

My Uncle

ボクのおじさん

COMEDY

22 Nov • Wed 20:20

Midnight Diner 2 Antiporno

続・深夜食堂

Her Love Boils Bathwater

湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛

23 Nov • Thu 20:25

Rage

怒り

Time

22 Nov • Wed 18:15 22 Nov • Wed 20:30 23 Nov • Thu 18:00

アンチポルノ

COMEDY

SLICE OF LIFE CULT DRAMA

Kiseki -Sobito of that Day-

キセキーあの日のソビトー

23 Nov • Thu 20:30

A Beautiful Star

美しい星

24 Nov • Fri

18:00

In this Corner of the World

この世界の片隅に

20:10

Memoirs of a Murderer

22年目の告白―私が殺人犯です― CRIME 雪女 INDIE

23 Nov • Thu 18:10

24 Nov • Fri 24 Nov • Fri 24 Nov • Fri 24 Nov • Fri

18:15 20:30 20:35

Love and Other Cults Snow Woman

Dear Etranger

獣道

幼な子われらに生まれ

BIOGRAPHICAL CRIME

COMEDY ANIME CULT

DRAMA

25 Nov • Sat 11:00

Ancien and the Magic Tablet

ひるね姫～知らないワタシの物語～ ANIME

25 Nov • Sat 13:15

Close-Knit

Survival Family The Tokyo Night Sky is Always the Densest Shade of Blue Hamon: Yakuza Boogie

彼らが本気で編むときは、サバイバル・ファミリー

25 Nov • Sat 11:30 25 Nov • Sat 14:00 25 Nov • Sat 15:30 25 Nov • Sat 17:45 25 Nov • Sat 18:00 25 Nov • Sat 20:10

Memoirs of a Murderer

Satoshi: A Move for Tomorrow Birds Without Names

DRAMA

COMEDY

夜空はいつでも最高密度の青色だ DRAMA 破門ふたりのヤクビョーガミ COMEDY 22年目の告白―私が殺人犯です― CRIME 聖の青春 BIOGRAPHICAL 彼女がその名を知らない鳥たち MYSTERY

Mukoku

武曲

DRAMA

ReLIFE

ReLIFE リライフ

DRAMA

26 Nov • Sun 13:15

Flower and Sword

花戦さ

PERIOD

25 Nov • Sat 20:35 26 Nov • Sun 11:00

ねこあつめの家

26 Nov • Sun 11:15

Neko Atsume House

26 Nov • Sun 13:30

Dear Etranger

幼な子われらに生まれ

26 Nov • Sun 15:45

My Uncle

ボクのおじさん

26 Nov • Sun 18:30

Radiance

26 Nov • Sun 16:00

OPENING

Short Film Collection

SPECIAL GUEST SCREENINGS

光

CLOSING

SLICE OF LIFE DRAMA

COMEDY ROMANCE

All films are in Japanese with English subtitles.

Schedules may be subject to change. For the most updated schedule, visit japanesefilmfestival.net

ACMI

Melbourne 23 Nov – 03 Dec Date

English Title

Japanese Title

Genre

23 Nov • Thu 19:15

Mumon: The Land of Stealth

忍びの国

ACTION

24 Nov • Fri

Over the Fence

オーバー・フェンス

24 Nov • Fri

Time

18:15 18:30

Dear Etranger

幼な子われらに生まれ

DRAMA

Mukoku

武曲

25 Nov • Sat 14:00

Snow Woman

雪女

25 Nov • Sat 19:30

In This Corner of the World

25 Nov • Sat 20:00

Before We Vanish

この世界の片隅に

Birds Without Names

彼女がその名を知らない鳥たち

26 Nov • Sun 15:30

The Tokyo Night Sky is Always the Densest Shade of Blue

夜空はいつでも最高密度の青色だ DRAMA

26 Nov • Sun 16:00 26 Nov • Sun 18:20

Close-Knit Short Film Collection

彼らが本気で編むときは、

DRAMA

26 Nov • Sun 18:30

Life and Death on the Shore

海辺の生と死

PERIOD

27 Nov • Mon 18:15

Close-Knit

彼らが本気で編むときは、

DRAMA

24 Nov • Fri

20:30

25 Nov • Sat 17:00

散歩する侵略者

DRAMA

INDIE ANIME MYSTERY

MYSTERY

27 Nov • Mon 18:30

Branded to Kill

殺しの烙印

28 Nov • Tue 18:00 28 Nov • Tue 19:35

Carmen from Kawachi Love and Other Cults

河内カルメン

獣道

CULT

29 Nov • Wed 13:45

Youth of the Beast

野獣の青春

CLASSIC

29 Nov • Wed 18:00

Tokyo Drifter

東京流れ者

CLASSIC

Birds Without Names Antiporno

彼女がその名を知らない鳥たちアンチポルノ

CULT

けんかえれじい

CLASSIC

ボクのおじさん

COMEDY

29 Nov • Wed 15:45 29 Nov • Wed 20:30 30 Nov • Thu 16:00 30 Nov • Thu 17:45 30 Nov • Thu 18:00 30 Nov • Thu 20:20 01 Dec • Fri

18:15

Fighting Elegy

ツィゴイネルワイゼン

Zigeunerweisen My Uncle

Gukoroku - Traces of Sin

Her Love Boils Bathwater

愚行録

湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛

CLASSIC CLASSIC

MYSTERY

CLASSIC CRIME

DRAMA

20:45

Rage

怒り

CRIME

02 Dec • Sat

14:00

Love and Other Cults

18:45 19:30

獣道花戦さ

02 Dec • Sat 02 Dec • Sat

Flower and Sword

A Double Life Satoshi: A Move for Tomorrow

二重生活聖の青春

CULT PERIOD

High Heels Revolution!

ハイヒール革命

03 Dec • Sun 14:00

My Uncle

ボクのおじさん

03 Dec • Sun 16:15

Ancien and the Magic Tablet

ひるね姫～知らないワタシの物語～ ANIME

01 Dec • Fri 02 Dec • Sat

02 Dec • Sat

16:45

21:15

03 Dec • Sun 15:30 03 Dec • Sun 18:30

OPENING

Dear Etranger

幼な子われらに生まれ光

Radiance

SPECIAL GUEST SCREENINGS

CLOSING

DRAMA BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUDRAMA

COMEDY DRAMA ROMANCE

All films are in Japanese with English subtitles.

Schedules may be subject to change. For the most updated schedule, visit japanesefilmfestival.net

Hoyts Melbourne Central

Melbourne 23 Nov – 03 Dec Date

Time

English Title

Japanese Title

Genre

24 Nov • Fri

19:00

Survival Family Hamon: Yakuza Boogie

サバイバル・ファミリー

COMEDY

24 Nov • Fri

20:00

25 Nov • Sat 14:30

Ancien and the Magic Tablet

破門ふたりのヤクビョーガミ

COMEDY

ひるね姫～知らないワタシの物語～ ANIME

25 Nov • Sat 16:45

Her Love Boils Bathwater

湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛

DRAMA

25 Nov • Sat 19:20

Teiichi -Battle of Supreme High-

帝一の國

Memoirs of a Murderer

22年目の告白―私が殺人犯です― CRIME

COMEDY

26 Nov • Sun 12:00

Neko Atsume House

ねこあつめの家

Tori Girl

トリガール!

25 Nov • Sat 18:00

26 Nov • Sun 14:30 26 Nov • Sun 16:30 30 Nov • Thu 18:30 30 Nov • Thu 21:00

A Beautiful Star Hamon: Yakuza Boogie

美しい星

破門ふたりのヤクビョーガミ

SLICE OF LIFE COMEDY

COMEDY

Rage

怒り

CRIME

ReLIFE

ReLIFE リライフ

DRAMA

01 Dec • Fri

18:15

01 Dec • Fri

20:45

Memoirs of a Murderer

22年目の告白―私が殺人犯です― CRIME

02 Dec • Sat

14:00

Kiseki -Sobito of that Day-

キセキーあの日のソビトー

02 Dec • Sat 02 Dec • Sat

16:15 18:30

Teiichi -Battle of Supreme High-

01 Dec • Fri

02 Dec • Sat

19:30

16:00

03 Dec • Sun 12:00 03 Dec • Sun 14:00

Her Sketchbook

Survival Family

世界は今日から君のもの

サバイバル・ファミリー帝一の國

SLICE OF LIFE

BIOGRAPHICAL COMEDY

Midnight Diner 2

続・深夜食堂

COMEDY SLICE OF LIFE

Tori Girl

トリガール!

COMEDY

ReLIFE

ReLIFE リライフ

DRAMA

All films are in Japanese with English subtitles.

Schedules may be subject to change. For the most updated schedule, visit japanesefilmfestival.net

Stamp Rally （スタンプラリー）

Present your JFF cinema ticket* (paid sessions only) at the Festival Info Desk on the day of the screening session and collect stamps to win prizes**! Prizes must be redeemed during the festival period.

Prizes 3 stamps - Win a JPF post-it note pad 6 stamps - Win a JFF pen 9 stamps - Win a JFF T-shirt *Only one ticket will be honoured per person for each screening session. Stamps must be collected on the day of the screening. **Prizes are subject to availability.