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About The Japanese Film Festival (JFF) in Australia is an annual film festival that has been presented by The Japan Foundation, Sydney since 1997. In 2019, JFF was held in 58 cities across 12 countries, reaching an audience of over 170,000 people. 2020 marks the 24th year of JFF Australia, which spans three programs: Classics, offering rare 35 and 16mm film screenings for free, Satellite, which tours a hand-picked selection of films across Australia, and JFF Plus: Online Festival, a brand-new online program for 2020 streaming free films in 20 countries, including Australia and New Zealand. JFF Program Director Yurika Sugie JFF Programmers Susan Bui, Anne Lee, Simonne Goran, and Aurora Newton
Government Partners Embassy of Japan in Australia Consulate-General of Japan in Brisbane Consulate-General of Japan in Melbourne Consulate-General of Japan in Perth Consulate-General of Japan in Sydney
Embassy of Japan in Australia Consulate-General of Japan in Brisbane Consulate-General of Japan in Melbourne Consulate-General of Japan in Perth Consulate-General of Japan in Sydney
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@japanesefilmfest @japanfilmfest #jffau2020 japanesefilmfestival.net
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A-Z Guide to JFF Plus 2020 Films 0.5mm 0.5ミリ
+9
Lady Maiko 舞妓はレディ
+7
+ 10
Li’l Spider Girl
+ 15
Café Funiculi Funicula
+6
Little Nights, Little Love
+8
Dance With Me
+7
Moon of a Sleepless Night
+ 16
Norman the Snowman - On a Night of Shooting Stars
+ 17
+ 10
ノーマン・ザ・スノーマン ～流れ星のふる夜に～
+ 17
+ 16
Norman the Snowman - The Northern Lights
アイネクライネナハトムジーク
コーヒーが冷めないうちに
ダンスウィズミー
Drawer Hobs たんすわらし。
Ecotherapy Getaway Holiday
わすれなぐも
Peace
+ 19
Pigtails
+ 14
Project Dreams How to Build Mazinger Z’s Hangar
+ 11
Railways
+ 10
Stolen Identity
+9
Sumikkogurashi: Good to Be in the Corner
+ 18
みつあみの神様
前田建設ファンタジー 営業部
眠れない月の夜
+ 15
+8
サヨナラまでの30分
A Story of Yonosuke 横道世之介
Our 30-Minute Sessions
RAILWAYS 49歳で電 車の運転士になった男の 物語
滝を見にいく
Gon, The Little Fox ごん
Key of Life
鍵泥棒のメソッド
ノーマン・ザ・スノーマン ～北国のオーロラ～
+6
One Night ひとよ
Kick-Heart
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+ 14
+9
スマホを落としただけな のに
映画 すみっコぐらし とびだす絵本とひみ つのコ
The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice
+ 11
The Girl from the Other Side
+ 15
お茶漬の味
とつくにの少女
The Great Passage
+8
Tokyo Marble Chocolate
+ 18
Tora-san in Goto
+ 19
Tremble All You Want
+6
Tsukiji Wonderland
+ 19
舟を編む
Gon, The Little Fox
東京マーブルチョコレート
五島のトラさん
勝手にふるえてろ
Café Funiculi Funicula
Little Nights, Little Love
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COMEDY
Tremble All You Want 勝手にふるえてろ
Director: Akiko Ohku 2017 + 117mins UNCL: Suitable for ages 15+
24 year old office employee Yoshika has a secret crush on her former junior high school classmate Ichi, but then her colleague Ni asks her to be his girlfriend. She’s excited but ambivalent about being asked out by a guy for the first time in her life, and she decides to throw a reunion party so she can see Ichi again. Yoshika anguishes over her feelings about Ichi versus Ni and ideals versus reality.
Key of Life
鍵泥棒のメソッド Sakurai is a struggling actor, and Kondo is a hit man with amnesia. Sakurai, who became a hit man on a whim, finds himself taking on dangerous jobs. Kondo, caught up in pretending to be Sakurai for a play, is being wooed by Kanae. Director: Kenji Uchida 2012 + 128mins UNCL: Suitable for ages 15+
FANTASY
Café Funiculi Funicula
コーヒーが冷めないうちに
Director: Ayuko Tsukahara 2018 + 116mins UNCL: Suitable for all ages
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Urban legend has it that you can return to your chosen point in the past at Funiculi Funicula, the coffee shop where Tokita Kazu works. Kiyokawa Fumiko hears the rumor and shows up to talk again with her childhood friend, who left for the US after they had a fight. But, several rules must be obeyed in order to travel back to the past.
MUSICAL
Director: Masayuki Suo + 2014 + 135mins + PG
Lady Maiko
舞妓はレディ
Haruko aspires to become a maiko, and makes her way to Shimohachiken, a geisha quarter in Kyoto. She is accepted for an apprenticeship through the auspices of Kyono, a linguistic scholar who is intrigued by her thick Kagoshima and Tsugaru dialect, and trains furiously to become a fully-fledged maiko.
Dance With Me ダンスウィズミー
Shizuka works at a big Tokyo trading company and harbors a secret crush on her dashing boss. One weekend she takes her niece to visit a carnival hypnotist to inspire her for an upcoming school musical. But it is Shizuka who falls under the spell and she is soon breaking uncontrollably into song and dance whenever she hears music. Shizuka must embark on a cross country hunt for the hypnotist to break the spell, singing and dancing all the way!
Director: Shinobu Yaguchi 2019 + 103mins UNCL: Suitable for all ages
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ROMANCE
Little Nights, Little Love
アイネクライネナハトムジーク Sato is an employee conducting a survey in front of Sendai Station. Saki takes the survey and the two ultimately become a couple. 10 years later, Sato proposes to Saki on the occasion of their 10th anniversary. Director: Rikiya Imaizumi 2019 + 119mins UNCL: Suitable for ages 15+
Our 30-Minute Sessions サヨナラまでの30分
Director: Kentaro Hagiwara 2020 + 114mins UNCL: Suitable for all ages
Teen music romance featuring singing and instrumental scenes with a fresh cast of young actors. College student Sota picks up a cassette tape left behind by musician Aki when he died a year ago. When the tape is played back, Aki takes over Sota’s body for just 30 minutes. They share the same body and rush to reunite a band that split up and bring a smile to Aki’s girlfriend Kana’s face.
The Great Passage 舟を編む
Director: Yuya Ishii 2013 + 133mins UNCL: Suitable for ages 15+
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Drama about the passion of an editor who struggles to create a dictionary, as depicted over a fifteen-year period. Publishing house salesman Majime has an earnestness about him that sets him apart from his peers. But he has a discerning sensibility when it comes to language, which lands him in the dictionary editorial department. He ends up editing “The Great Passage,” a huge dictionary with 240,000 entries.
MYSTERY
Stolen Identity
スマホを落としただけないのに Surreal terror of the heroine is depicted throughout the film, after personal information from a smartphone is stolen, which later leads to a murder case. One day, Asami calls her boyfriend, but a stranger answers the phone. He explains he found her boyfriend’s phone, and returns it a few days later. Since then, strange things keep happening to Asami. She is now a target of a serial killer who gradually exposes her secret.
Director: Hideo Nakata 2018 + 116mins UNCL: Suitable for ages 15+
DRAMA
One Night ひとよ
A mother and her three children find their fate thrown into chaos by an incident that happened one night. The family members each go their separate ways but reunite after 15 years and struggle to restore their family bonds. Director: Kazuya Shiraishi 2019 + 123mins UNCL: Suitable for ages 15+
0.5mm 0.5ミリ
Sawa works as a caretaker. One day she gets involved in unexpected events which have her lose her job and money. Not having a house to live in or money to spend, she begins to hunt for her ‘clients’ in the street, suggesting to take care of them as a sleep in caretaker. She targets old men who seem to be having problems in their lives. At first they got confused by Sawa’s aggressive attitude and lots of energy, but gradually let her into their lives, and their ‘almost dead’ lives start to shine again...
Director: Momoko Ando 2014 + 196mins UNCL: Suitable for ages 15+
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DRAMA
Ecotherapy Getaway Holiday 滝を見に行く
Director: Shuichi Okita 2014 + 88mins UNCL: Suitable for all ages
Comedy about the struggles of seven aging women on a tour to view fall foliage who get lost in the mountains. Seven aging women get together for a tour of fall foliage that includes hot springs and a spectacular waterfall. They enjoy themselves as they head up the mountain, but their tour guide vanishes. Left behind in the mountains, the seven women begin to discover themselves as they deal with survival.
Railways
RAILWAYS 49歳で電車の運転士になっ た男の物語
Director: Yoshinari Nishikori 2010 + 130mins UNCL: Suitable for ages 15+
Hajime is in line to be the next head of a prominent electronics company. He toils day and night over his work and has no time for his family. But one day, his mother in Shimane falls ill, and his best friend dies in an accident. Grief-stricken, Hajime returns home, where memories of his childhood dream come back to him. He had always wanted to be a train conductor and drive the local “bataden” Ichibata Electric Railway.
A Story of Yonosuke 横道世之介
Director: Shuichi Okita 2013 + 160mins UNCL: Suitable for ages 15+
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It nostalgically depicts the interactions between a good-natured young man and his friends, while interweaving the past and present. In 1987, a youth named Yonosuke who is unable to decline the requests of others leaves his hometown of Nagasaki to start university life in Tokyo. One day as he is juggling classes and extracurricular activities, he goes to a driving school and meets Shoko, the daughter of a company president, who takes a liking to him.
DRAMA
Project Dreams - How to Build Mazinger Z’s Hangar 前田建設ファンタジー営業部
Company employees are depicted earnestly grappling with meaningless things in this drama. Doi of the Maeda Construction Company’s advertising group has little passion for his work. One day the group’s leader Asagawa declares, “Let’s build the hangar for Mazinger Z!” Having been dragged in by Asagawa, Doi and his co-workers commence putting on appearances of having taken on this request from a fantasy world.
Director: Tsutomu Hanabusa 2020 + 115mins UNCL: Suitable for all ages
CLASSIC
Director: Yasujiro Ozu + 1952 + 115mins + UNCL: Suitable for all ages
The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice お茶漬の味 The story is about a middle-aged couple who are different in every way from each other. However in a critical situation, they find hope for a renewal of their marriage when they share a simple meal together. As with all of Ozu’s films, the family unit, in crisis, is portrayed, with warmth, humor, and resignation to the limit of life.
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Mark Schilling x Director Interviews Video interviews between film critic Mark Shilling and directors from the JFF Plus 2020 program will be made available online throughout the festival.
Mark Shilling Mark Shilling is a veteran film critic with over 30 years of experience in the film industry, writing for publications such as The Japan Times, Variety and The Asian Wall Street Journal. Since his move to Tokyo in 1975, he has become one of Japan’s most prominent film critics. His most recent book, Art, Cult and Commerce: Japanese Cinema since 2000, is a digest of the details and particularities within the Japanese film industry, with memorable interviews from the many notable figures in Japanese cinema.
Featured Directors
Rikiya Imaizumi Little Nights, Little Love +8 Rikiya Imaizumi is a director who often depicts romance between Japanese youth in his works. Little Nights, Little Love was included in JFF 2019 along with his other 2019 feature, Just Only Love.
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Kazuhiro Soda Peace + 19 Kazuhiro Soda is a director known for his observational method of documentary filmmaking. His 2010 documentary Peace won the title of Best Documentary at the 2011 Hong Kong International Film Festival.
Featured Directors
Kazuya Shiraishi One Night + 9 A Japanese filmmaker born in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. He is most renowned for directing The Blood of Wolves (2018), which won Best Director at the 14th Osaka Cinema Film Festival and was featured in JFF 2018.
Shuichi Okita Ecotherapy Getaway Holiday + 10 A Story of Yonosuke + 10 Shuichi Okita graduated from the Nihon University College of Arts and is a director with both local and international acclaim. Okita’s A Story of Yonosuke won Best Director at the 2014 Japan Film Professional Awards.
Takeshi Yashiro Gon, The Little Fox + 16 Moon of a Sleepless Night + 16 Norman the Snowman -The Northern Lights + 17 Norman the Snowman On a Night of Shooting Stars + 17 A creator of stop motion animation films in which he creates the sets and puppets by himself. His short films have won numerous awards.
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Production I.G Short Animations SHORTS ANIMATIONS
Established in 1987, Tokyo-based animation studio Production I.G is a household name in Japan and has produced globally-acclaimed feature films, OVAs and series, including Ghost in the Shell, Miss Hokusai, Haikyu!! and more. Enjoy a collection of five little gems from the masters of Japanese anime. Pigtails
みつあみの神様
Director: Yoshimi Itazu 2015 + 28mins
The earth shook. The sea roared. And then... There is a small house solitary standing by the seaside. A pigtail-braided girl has been living there alone since that fateful day. Mail is no longer delivered, but even this morning, she’s hanging out the laundry as usual. A thought-provoking fable of hope and rebirth in a cruel and gentle world after an unnamed disaster.
UNCL: Suitable for ages 15+
Kick-Heart
Director: Masaaki Yuasa 2013 + 13mins UNCL: Suitable for ages 15+
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Kick-Heart is a love story between Romeo, a successful pro-wrestler, and Juliet, a nun who lives a secret double-life as a female pro-wrestler. Romeo’s secret is that he enjoys taking a beating in the ring, while Juliet feels invigorated when facing her opponents as a wrestler. When the two meet in the ring, the fireworks fly. Will Juliet reveal her true identity to the one she loves? Will Romeo be able to share his secret to the world?
わすれなぐも
Everything started from an old book telling the story of an expert magician who defeated a giant spider monster in ancient times. Antique book dealer Amane Suzuri, who is trying to sell the book in order to pay the rent, would have never imagined that after reading this story to Mizuki, the building owner’s young niece, he could find himself face-to-face with a scared, twentycentimeter-tall, eight-legged baby arachnid girl. And she’s the sweetest thing in the world... or not?
Director: Toshihisa Kaiya 2012 + 24mins
SHORTS ANIMATIONS
Li’l Spider Girl
UNCL: Suitable for ages 15+
Drawer Hobs たんすわらし。
Unfulfilled call-center employee Noeru lives alone in a cheap apartment in a big city. One day, without notice, her mother sends her an old and bulky chest of drawers. Not exactly the most welcome piece of furniture for Noeru’s tiny place! But from that day, breakfast is ready in the morning although she doesn’t recall of having cooked any. And the kitchen is clean and tidy instead of the usual mess. And... wait, what are those weird kids doing in her room?
Director: Kazuchika Kise 2011 + 24mins UNCL: Suitable for ages 15+
The Girl from the Other Side とつくにの少女
Touch not the Outsiders, lest ye become an Outsider. But when two creatures belonging to opposite kinds -a lost little girl from the Inside and a demonic beast-looking Outsider- initiate an impossible coexistence on the same side of the forest, their bond seems to transcend their incompatible natures and the unnamed curse that has divided the world. Based on Angoulemenominated, eponymous best-selling graphic novel by manga artist Nagabe.
Director: Yutaro Kobo and Saomi Maiya 2019 + 9mins UNCL: Suitable for ages 15+
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Takeshi Yashiro Stop Motion Animation STOP MOTION
Born in 1969, director and writer Takeshi Yashiro began his career directing commercials while studying stop motion animation techniques. In 2012, he shifted his focus to creating stop motion films and now writes and directs narrative-focused projects that he creates the sets and puppets by himself, imbuing his works with handmade charm.
Gon, The Little Fox ごん
When Gon, a playful orphaned fox, finds that young Hyoju has lost his mother, he tries to comfort him and make amends for his own earlier mischiefs by secretly bringing small gifts to the boy every day. But Hyoju doesn’t realize who is behind the anonymous gifts, and the two are headed for a heartbreaking climax.
Director: Takeshi Yashiro 2015 + 27mins UNCL: Suitable for all ages
Moon of a Sleepless Night 眠れない月の夜
A squirrel and a boy set out on a journey together to restore daylight. They must find and release the moon stuck high up on a tree somewhere far, far away.
Director: Takeshi Yashiro 2015 + 27mins UNCL: Suitable for all ages
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STOP MOTION
Norman the SnowmanThe Northern Lights
ノーマン・ザ・スノーマン～北国のオーロ ラ～ As the first snow falls on a town in the northern country, a boy sneaks out of his house to board a northbound train with his friend “Norman the Snowman.” They are off to witness the beautiful wonders of nature that Norman had always talked about.
Director: Takeshi Yashiro 2013 + 25mins UNCL: Suitable for all ages
Director: Takeshi Yashiro + 2016 + 25mins + UNCL: Suitable for all ages
Norman the Snowman - On a Night of Shooting Stars
ノーマン・ザ・スノーマン～流れ星のふる夜に～
Tomorrow is the night of the shooting stars! A new chapter of “Norman the Snowman” begins as Norman and the Boy embark on another venture to see the star-filled sky. 17
ANIME
Tokyo Marble Chocolate 東京マーブルチョコレート
Director: Naoyoshi Shiotani 2007 + 60mins UNCL: Suitable for all ages
Serious and generous, but a bit shy, Yudai has been unsuccessful with the opposite sex. Chizuru is an energetic and cheerful girl, but when it comes to boyfriends, she’s been unlucky and clumsy, and never had a steady relationship. This is the first Christmas the couple spends together. Chizuru loves animals and Yudai plans to give her a rabbit in a box, but it turns out to be... a mini donkey?! As the funny creature escapes, Chizuru goes after it, and Yudai loses sight of them both...
Director: Mankyu + 2019 + 65mins + UNCL: Suitable for all ages
Sumikkogurashi: Good to Be in the Corner
映画 すみっコぐらし とびだす絵本とひみつのコ
Sumikko and friends discover a pop-out picture book in the basement of Cafe Sumikko, their favorite coffee shop. As they look at the book, the pop-ups suddenly start moving and Sumikko and friends get sucked into the book. 18
DOCUMENTARY
Peace In Okayama City in Okayama Prefecture, Soda’s father-in-law Kashiwagi Toshio is a driver for the elderly and disabled, and his mother-in-law Hiroko runs an non-profit organization. The yard in front of their home has become a haven for stray cats. Their simple everyday life offers glimpses of the meaning of peace. Director: Kazuhiro Soda 2010 + 75mins UNCL: Suitable for all ages
Tora-san in Goto 五島のトラさん
A documentary shot from 1993 and over 22 years chronicled a large family who make their living as udon noodle makers on the Goto Archipelago in Nagasaki Prefecture. Inuzuka Torao, known as “Tora of Goto” runs an udon noodle making business on the Goto Archipelago. Everyday, his seven children wake up at 5am, help with the business for an hour, then head for school. Over the 22 years the documentary follows them, the children all grow up.
Director: Masaru Oura 2016 + 114mins UNCL: Suitable for all ages
Tsukiji Wonderland Through the lives of professionals working at Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, the film portrays how Tsukiji has been the center of fish culinary culture and helped Japanese food culture to flourish as we know it today.
Director: Naotaro Endo 2016 + 110mins UNCL: Suitable for all ages
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Tip Save films that pique your interest to ‘My List’ on the JFF Plus streaming website so you can plan your viewing schedule! 20
Streaming Schedule Australia Available to stream for 24 hours from 14:00 AEDT (11:00 AWST) Date
Day
English Title
Japanese Title
Genre
DAY 1 • 4 Dec
Friday
Project Dreams - How to Build Mazinger Z’s Hangar
前田建設ファンタジー営業部
Drama
The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice
お茶漬の味
Key of Life
鍵泥棒のメソッド
Classic
Dance With Me
ダンスウィズミー
DAY 2 • 5 Dec
DAY 3 • 6 Dec
DAY 4 • 7 Dec
DAY 5 • 8 Dec
DAY 6 • 9 Dec
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
横道世之介
Drama
Gon, The Little Fox
ごん
Stop Motion
Stolen Identity
スマホを落としただけないのに
Mystery
Tokyo Marble Chocolate
東京マーブルチョコレート
Anime
Drawer Hobs
たんすわらし。
Anime
Sumikkogurashi: Good to Be in the Corner
映画 すみっコぐらし とびだす 絵本とひみつのコ
Anime
The Great Passage
舟を編む
Romance
Li’l Spider Girl
わすれなぐも
Anime
0.5mm
0.5ミリ
Drama
Norman the Snowman The Northern Lights
ノーマン・ザ・スノーマン～北国 のオーロラ～
Stop Motion
五島のトラさん
Documentary
ひとよ
Drama
Tsukiji Wonderland
Wednesday Tora-san in Goto One Night Thursday
Railways Ecotherapy Getaway Holiday Norman the Snowman On a Night of Shooting Stars
DAY 8 • 11 Dec
DAY 9 • 12 Dec
Friday
Saturday
DAY 10 • 13 Dec Sunday
Musical
A Story of Yonosuke
Kick-Heart DAY 7 • 10 Dec
Comedy
RAILWAYS 49歳で電車の運 転士になった男の物語
Documentary
Anime Drama
滝を見に行く
Drama
ノーマン・ザ・スノーマン～流れ 星のふる夜に～
Stop Motion Documentary
Peace Tremble All You Want
勝手にふるえてる
Comedy
Pigtails
みつあみの神様
Anime
Lady Maiko
舞妓はレディ
Musical
Our 30-Minute Sessions
サヨナラまでの30分
Romance
The Girl from the Other Side
とつくにの少女
Anime
Little Nights, Little Love
アイネクライネナハトムジーク
Romance
Café Funiculi Funicula
Moon of a Sleepless Night
コーヒーが冷めないうちに 眠れない月の夜
Fantasy
Stop Motion
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