The Japanese Film Festival Ireland returns for its 14th edition this month, bringing the best of Japanese cinema to audiences across Ireland. The festival will screen films in Galway between Thursday April 30 and Sunday April 23 in the Pálás and between Monday April 24 and Friday April 28 in the Eye Cinema.
Highlights from this year’s programme include the multi-award-winning drama A Man, the acclaimed ‘tokusatsu’ superhero reboot Shin Ultraman, delectable ramen documentary Come Back Anytime, and new anime features like Suzume, Blue Thermal and The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes.
Mr Norio Maruyama, Ambassador of Japan to Ireland, says: “As the newly appointed ambassador, I am delighted to hear that Irish audiences have enjoyed previous Japanese Film Festivals in Ireland. I am looking forward to visiting Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Waterford, Dundalk and Wexford where the 2023 Japanese Film Festival is taking place and seeing many of the films on offer this year. I would like to thank access>CINEMA for all their commitment and hard work devoted to making the Japanese Film Festival such a successful annual event since we started our collaboration in 2008. I hope that everyone will enjoy this year’s films and get to know more about Japanese life and culture.”
Maeve Cooke, director of access>CINEMA, said: “After the disruption of the past 3 years, we’re excited to be finally able to return our Festival activity to pre-pandemic levels, and are grateful to everyone who loyally supported us during that difficult period. JFF has always been about bringing the diversity of contemporary Japanese cinema to Ireland, and this year we’ve pulled out all of the stops to ensure that the programme has something for everyone.
“As ever, we’re delighted to be able to bring the Festival to sites across Ireland - with Wexford a new addition to the schedule this year. Whether you’re a Festival regular or have never been before, we can’t wait to welcome you at our screenings nationally.”
This year’s programme includes the first Irish screenings of A Man, the powerful drama that recently won eight awards - including Best Film, Best Director and three acting awards - at the Japan Academy Film Prize ceremony in Tokyo. December, from the Japan-based Indian filmmaker Anshul Chauhan, is a thoughtful, nuanced and probing courtroom drama. Just Remembering is a romantic drama told in reverse - beginning with an ending, but then working backwards to show how a relationship changed over time.
Ramen enthusiasts are in for a treat with the charming documentary Come Back Anytime, about a couple who’ve run a tiny Tokyo noodle restaurant for decades and the community that has formed around a shared enthusiasm for the restaurant’s delicious shoyu (soy sauce ) ramen.
JFF is excited to bring Shin Ultraman - the acclaimed ‘tokusatsu’ superhero reboot from the team behind Shin Godzilla and the Evangelion series - to screens across Ireland. Anime fans won’t want to miss Anime Supremacy!, a film that takes audiences behind the scenes of the Japanese animation industry via a lively and entertaining tale of artistic rivalry. Anime features being screened at this year’s festival include the moving sci-fi teen romance The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes and the feel-good flying adventure Blue Thermal.
As ever, JFF will also bring a selection of independent films and exciting discoveries to Irish audiences. This year’s line-up includes New Religion, Keishi Kondo’s eerie, surreal horror film that marks the arrival of an exciting new voice in Japanese independent cinema. Your Lovely Smile is a delightfully quirky road trip comedy-drama that transforms into a heartfelt tribute to Japan’s independent cinemas and filmmakers. This year’s classic screening is a film from the late Yoshishige Yoshida (also known as Kij? Yoshida ), one of the leading figures of the Japanese ‘New Wave’. Yoshida passed away in December 2022, and audiences in Dublin will have a rare opportunity to see the director’s cut of his 1969 masterpiece Eros + Massacre on the big screen.
Tickets available from jff.ie
