Japanese Film Festival 2017 Program Booklet - Canberra Adelaide Brisbane Perth by The Japan Foundation, Sydney

Pro gram Canberra Adelaide Brisbane Perth

13-22 Oct 19-22 Oct 25-29 Oct 01-05 Nov

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

Japanese Film Festival team Government Partners

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

@japanesefilmfest @japanfilmfest #jffau2017 japanesefilmfestival.net

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

Media Partners

FBi RADIO

Local Partners Design kevinvo.com.au

Venues and Ticketing Festival Dates and Venues Canberra

Adelaide

Brisbane

Perth

13–22 October

19–22 October

25–29 October

01–05 November

Dendy, Canberra Centre

GU Filmhouse Adelaide

Event Cinemas Brisbane City

Hoyts Carousel

Box office open 9:30am-10pm (02) 6221 8900

Box office open 1pm-9.30pm (08) 8210 6000

148 Bunda St

128 Hindley St

Ticket Prices $18.50 $15.50

Concession

$75

†

Group Bookings (10+)

Box office open 9:45am-12am (07) 3027 9999

Westfield Carousel 1382 Albany Hwy Cannington Box office open 10am-10pm (08) 9466 4900

Save with a 5 Film pass!

Adult 5 Film Pass*

Myer Centre Level 3 Myer Centre Elizabeth St

†

$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:

Sydney 16-26 October Melbourne 23 November - 3 December

Opening Film

Mumon: The Land of Stealth

忍びの国

Director: Yoshihiro Nakamura 2017 • 125mins Screening: All cities 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 fl ee for his life— or fight ‘til his death?

Flower and Sword

花戦さ

Director: Tetsuo Shinohara 2017 • 127mins Screening: All cities Recommended for ages 12+

Is the flower indeed mightier than the sword? 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.

PERIOD

Ancien and the Magic Tablet

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

Director: Yoshitaka Mori 2016 • 124mins Screening: Brisbane, Perth

All ages

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

Hamon: Yakuza Boogie

My Uncle

Tori Girl

破門ふたりのヤクビョーガミ

ボクのおじさん

トリガール!

Director: Syoutarou Kobayashi 2017 • 120mins Screening: All cities

Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita 2016 • 110mins Screening: Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra

Director: Tsutomu Hanabusa 2017 • 98mins Screening: All cities

Strictly 18+

Scum. That’s what they are. 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 smallfry loanshark for bossman Shimizu and angry henchman Kuwahara. When a movie investment goes wrong, Kuwahara drags Ninomiya in a cat-and-mouse chase to recover the stolen money. Hamon is not your regular hard-boiled action comedy—expect witty dialogue and fewer slapstick gags.

COMEDY

All Ages

The adventures of 8-yearold Yukio and his favourite useless uncle. 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 parttime philosophy lecturer who spends most days lazing at home, quoting Kant, and secretly reading comic books. When the uncle meets Eri, a beautiful Japanese-American photographer, it’s love at first sight. But Eri returns to Hawaii, setting Yukio and his besotted uncle off on a transpacific adventure.

Recommended for ages 12+

Altitude meets attitude Yukina has always been the go-with-the-flow 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 bicycle-powered DIY airplane over Lake Biwa at the annual Birdman Rally.

ReLIFE

ReLIFE リライフ

Teiichi -Battle of Supreme High-

帝一の國

Director: Akira Nagai 2017 • 118mins Screening: Brisbane, Perth Recommended for ages 12+

Out-smart, out-bribe, out-last: Teiichi for student council president! 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, and Teiichi Akaba needs to conquer it 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.

Director: Takeshi Furusawa 2017 • 120mins Screening: Brisbane, Perth Recommended for ages 12+

Do you want a second chance at life? 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.

COMEDY

DRAMA

Close-Knit

彼らが本気で編むときは、

A Double Life

二重生活

Director: Yoshiyuki Kishi 2016 • 126mins Screening: Brisbane 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.

Director: Naoko Ogigami 2017 • 127mins Screening: Brisbane, Perth All Ages

湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛

A story of family, acceptance and transgender identity

Director: Ryota Nakano 2016 • 125mins Screening: All cities

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 heartwarming drama, Berlin International Film Festival 2017 Teddy Jury Award Winner; Panorama Audience Award 2nd Place

DRAMA

Her Love Boils Bathwater

Recommended for ages 12+

A tale of a mother’s fierce love and a family’s enduring spirit 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 exhusband Kazuhiro. When the family reunites, Futaba announces that they’ll revive the family’s disused public bathhouse. This awardwinning film looks at the breakdown of family relations and the enduring spirit that endeavours to keep them intact. © 2016 “Her Love Boils Bathwater” Film Partners

Memoirs of a Murderer

Rage

22年目の告白―私が殺人犯です―

怒り

Director: Yu Irie 2017 • 117mins Screening: Brisbane, Perth

Director: Sang-il Lee 2016 • 142mins Screening: All cities

A killer’s confession resurrects a detective’s anguish.

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

Strictly 18+

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.

CRIME & MYSTERY

Strictly 18+

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.

Birds Without Names

Gukoroku - Traces of Sin

彼女がその名を知らない鳥たち

愚行録

Director: Kazuya Shiraishi 2017 • 123mins Screening: All cities

Director: Kei Ishikawa 2017 • 120mins Screening: Brisbane, Perth

There are no limits in the pursuit of love

Foolish acts can have dangerous repercussions.

Under 15s must be accompanied by an adult

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. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2017; Busan International Film Festival 2017

Strictly 18+

Investigative journalist Takeshi is going through a diff cult time. His sister Mitsuko is charged with child neglect and awaiting trial from behind bars. To distract himself, he reexamines the cold case murder of the Takou family. As he interviews friends and former colleagues of the deceased, he uncovers a vicious web of elitist social circles. Venice Film Festival 2016 Official Competition

Closing Film

Radiance

光

Over The Fence

オーバー・フェンス

Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita 2016 • 112mins Screening: Brisbane

Under 15s must be accompanied by an adult

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

Director: Naomi Kawase 2017 • 102mins Screening: All cities 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 2017 Ecumenical Jury Prize

ROMANCE

DRAMA

Dendy, Canberra Centre

Canberra 13–22 October Date

Time

English Title

Japanese Title

Genre

13 Oct • Fri

18:15

Mumon: The Land of Stealth

忍びの国

ACTION

14 Oct • Sat

12:00

Her Love Boils Bathwater

14:30

Hamon: Yakuza Boogie

湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛

DRAMA

彼女がその名を知らない鳥たち

MYSTERY

14 Oct • Sat 14 Oct • Sat

17:00

Birds Without Names

破門ふたりのヤクビョーガミ

COMEDY

15 Oct • Sun 13:30

Ancien and the Magic Tablet

ひるね姫～知らないワタシの物語～ ANIME

20 Oct • Fri

Ancien and the Magic Tablet

ひるね姫～知らないワタシの物語～ ANIME

15 Oct • Sun 15:45 20 Oct • Fri

18:00 18:30

In This Corner of the World

Rage

この世界の片隅に怒り

CRIME

花戦さ

PERIOD

21 Oct • Sat

13:30

21 Oct • Sat

16:00

Mumon: The Land of Stealth

18:30

Her Love Boils Bathwater

湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛

Tori Girl

トリガール!

21 Oct • Sat

22 Oct • Sun 12:10 22 Oct • Sun 14:00 22 Oct • Sun 16:15

Flower and Sword

My Uncle Radiance

ANIME

忍びの国

ボクのおじさん光

ACTION DRAMA

COMEDY COMEDY DRAMA

GU Filmhouse Adelaide

Adelaide 19–22 October Date

English Title

Japanese Title

Genre

19 Oct • Thu 18:15

Mumon: The Land of Stealth

忍びの国

ACTION

20 Oct • Fri

17:45

Her Love Boils Bathwater

湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛この世界の片隅に

20 Oct • Fri

20:20

In This Corner of the World

Birds Without Names

彼女がその名を知らない鳥たち

ANIME

21 Oct • Sat

12:10

Her Love Boils Bathwater

湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛

21 Oct • Sat 21 Oct • Sat

17:10

20 Oct • Fri

Time

18:00

DRAMA

MYSTERY

Flower and Sword

花戦さ

DRAMA PERIOD

My Uncle

ボクのおじさん

Rage

怒り

COMEDY

22 Oct • Sun 11:00

Ancien and the Magic Tablet

ひるね姫～知らないワタシの物語～ ANIME

22 Oct • Sun 15:40

Tori Girl

トリガール!

21 Oct • Sat

14:40

16:15

18:45

22 Oct • Sun 13:15 22 Oct • Sun 17:45

OPENING

CLOSING

Mumon: The Land of Stealth

Hamon: Yakuza Boogie Radiance

忍びの国

破門ふたりのヤクビョーガミ光

All films are in Japanese with English subtitles.

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

ACTION

CRIME

COMEDY COMEDY DRAMA

Event Cinemas Brisbane City Myer Centre

Brisbane 25–29 October Date

Time

25 Oct • Wed 19:00 26 Oct • Thu 18:00

English Title

Japanese Title

Genre

Mumon: The Land of Stealth

忍びの国

ACTION

聖の青春

BIOGRAPHICAL

Satoshi: A Move for Tomorrow

26 Oct • Thu 18:15

Hamon: Yakuza Boogie

破門ふたりのヤクビョーガミ

Over the Fence

オーバー・フェンス

26 Oct • Thu 20:40

Memoirs of a Murderer

22年目の告白―私が殺人犯です― CRIME

27 Oct • Fri

18:00

Flower and Sword

花戦さ

PERIOD

27 Oct • Fri

20:30

Rage

怒り

20:40

Hamon: Yakuza Boogie

破門ふたりのヤクビョーガミ

CRIME

11:00

Tori Girl

トリガール!

13:00

Ancien and the Magic Tablet

ひるね姫～知らないワタシの物語～ ANIME

26 Oct • Thu 20:20

27 Oct • Fri 27 Oct • Fri 28 Oct • Sat 28 Oct • Sat 28 Oct • Sat

18:15

12:45

Teiichi -Battle of Supreme High-

Close-Knit

帝一の國

彼らが本気で編むときは、

COMEDY

ROMANCE

COMEDY COMEDY COMEDY DRAMA

15:10

ReLIFE

ReLIFE リライフ

28 Oct • Sat

15:15

帝一の國

28 Oct • Sat

17:30

Battle of Supreme High

Gukoroku - Traces of Sin

愚行録

28 Oct • Sat

17:40

Mumon: The Land of Stealth

忍びの国

ACTION MYSTERY

28 Oct • Sat

DRAMA COMEDY

MYSTERY

Birds Without Names

彼女がその名を知らない鳥たち

Memoirs of a Murderer

22年目の告白―私が殺人犯です― CRIME

29 Oct • Sun 11:00

Her Love Boils Bathwater

湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛

29 Oct • Sun 13:25

Kiseki: Sobito of the Day

キセキーあの日のソビトー

In This Corner of the World

この世界の片隅に

29 Oct • Sun 15:45

A Double Life

28 Oct • Sat 28 Oct • Sat

20:00 20:15

29 Oct • Sun 11:20 29 Oct • Sun 13:30

Ancien and the Magic Tablet

29 Oct • Sun 16:00

My Uncle

29 Oct • Sun 18:15

Radiance

OPENING

CLOSING

DRAMA

ひるね姫～知らないワタシの物語～ ANIME

二重生活

ボクのおじさん光

All films are in Japanese with English subtitles.

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

BIOGRAPHICAL ANIME DRAMA

COMEDY DRAMA

Hoyts Carousel, Cannington

Perth 01–05 November Date

Time

English Title

Japanese Title

Genre

01 Nov • Wed 18:45

Mumon: The Land of Stealth

忍びの国

ACTION

02 Nov • Thu 18:15 02 Nov • Thu 18:30

Memoirs of a Murderer

Satoshi: A Move for Tomorrow

22年目の告白―私が殺人犯です― CRIME BIOGRAPHICAL 聖の青春

03 Nov • Fri

17:50

Hamon: Yakuza Boogie

破門ふたりのヤクビョーガミ

COMEDY

03 Nov • Fri

18:00

Close-Knit

彼らが本気で編むときは、

20:20

愚行録

MYSTERY

20:30

Gukoroku - Traces of Sin

03 Nov • Fri

忍びの国

ACTION

ReLIFE リライフ

DRAMA

03 Nov • Fri

Mumon: The Land of Stealth

04 Nov • Sat 10:30 04 Nov • Sat 12:40

Memoirs of a Murderer

04 Nov • Sat 12:50

Tori Girl

04 Nov • Sat 14:50

In This Corner of the World

04 Nov • Sat 15:00

Hamon: Yakuza Boogie

04 Nov • Sat 17:15

Teiichi -Battle of Supreme High-

ReLIFE

DRAMA

22年目の告白―私が殺人犯です― CRIME トリガール!

COMEDY

この世界の片隅に

ANIME

破門ふたりのヤクビョーガミ

COMEDY

帝一の國

COMEDY

Rage

怒り

05 Nov • Sun 10:15

Ancien and the Magic Tablet

ひるね姫～知らないワタシの物語～ ANIME

05 Nov • Sun 10:45

Flower and Sword

花戦さ

PERIOD

05 Nov • Sun 13:15

Birds Without Names

彼女がその名を知らない鳥たち

MYSTERY

05 Nov • Sun 15:40

Her Love Boils Bathwater

湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛

DRAMA

05 Nov • Sun 18:00

Radiance

光

DRAMA

04 Nov • Sat 19:40

OPENING

CLOSING

All films are in Japanese with English subtitles.

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

CRIME