Program Highlights

From our opening nights to pre-Festival promotional events, the JFF season is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your product. Kicking off the Festival season was the Info Night, held at The Japan Foundation, Sydney; a matsuri-like event where we revealed our Main program and screened trailers, provided personalised film recommendations and played games with exciting prizes provided by our sponsors. Further pre-Festival activities in 2019 included a cosplay contest supported by Madman Entertainment and a Japanese dog parade through the streets of Sydney.

At our opening nights in Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, Sydney and Melbourne, we welcomed guests with gift bags of products, brochures and other samples. This year, we were also proud to offer two special guest screenings in Sydney. BLUE HOUR director Yuko Hakota joined us for a screening of her film and post-film Q&A with a special sponsor sake tasting, and SIBLINGS OF THE CAPE director Shinzo Katayama attended a screening of his film and participated in a post-film Q&A. In Melbourne, guest researcher Dr Emerald L King (La Trobe University) joined us for post-film discussion on 80s manga and forgotten classics after FLY ME TO THE SAITAMA.

Info Night attendees receiving personalised advice on what films to see at JFF 2019.

Info Night attendee playing a version of the popular Japanese festival game called kingyo sukui, where participants must use a fragile net made out of tissue paper to catch a bouncy ball submerged in water.

JFF sponsor Sakeshop booth at Info Night, where they offered free sake tastings. JFF sponsor Books Kinokuniya Sydney’s booth featured a selection of books related to films in the 2019 program. Event attendees also had the opportunity to win Kinokuniya vouchers and sponsor Choya products in lucky draws, a true or false game based on the JFF program and a Japanese festival scooping game (pictured above).

JFF staff, volunteers and nine Japanese dogs took to the streets of Sydney to hand out JFF 2019 programs and ramp up excitement for the Festival. People on the street who stopped for photos and posted on social media using a special hashtag could enter for a chance to win a JFF double pass.

SPECIAL GUEST EVENTS: Directors Yuko Hakota (BLUE HOUR) and Shinzo Katayama (SIBLINGS OF THE CAPE) travelled to Sydney for screenings of their films at JFF. During post-film Q&As, audiences could learn about what went into making the films from conceptualistion to execution.

BLUE HOUR director Yuko Hakota opening a sake barrel provided by partner Morishima Shuzo. As part of the post-film Q&A with the director, audiences could also enjoy a sake tasting with the director.

To celebrate our guest researcher and cosplay expert Dr Emerald L King’s FLY ME TO THE SAITAMA talk event, we teamed up with Madman Entertainment for a nationwide cosplay contest. Participants entered by submitting a photo of themselves cosplaying any character from our 2019 Main program. One grand prize winner and one runner-up received JFF double passes along with prizes supplied by Madman Entertainment, and a fanfavourite vote was held on Facebook.

Top: Dr Emerald L King in FLY ME TO THE SAITAMA cosplay

Middle and bottom: Winning entries from the pre-Festival cosplay competition.

JFF Opening Nights are a time for celebration and bringing the greater JFF community together, from Japan enthusiasts to local organisations and businesses.

Every year, our team is on the ground interacting with VIPs and other cinemagoers at Opening Nights, taking an hands-on approach to ensure the highest-quality Festival experience possible.