EIGHT DAYS of the very best and latest films from Japan will be screened at both The Eye and Pálas cinemas, when the 10th annual Japanese Film Festival comes to Galway.
Showcasing a mix of new work from established directors, and first features from inspiring new talent, screenings will take place from Sunday April 8 to Thursday 12 at The Eye and from Friday 13 to Monday 16 at the Pálás.
Films to be screened include the family drama Close Knit; the humorous At The Terrace, which sees the aftermath of a dinner party implode as social politeness gives way to revelations and scandal; Mari Okada’s directorial debut Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms; the apocalyptic comedy Survival Family; and Teiichi: Battle of Supreme High, an over-the-top story of high school politics brimming with comic book excess.
A potential highlight could be The Third Murder, a dark legal thriller from director Hirokazu Kore-eda. When a factory owner is found dead, employee and ex-convict Misumi confesses to the killing, but is he actually the murderer? This morally ambiguous whodunnit won Best Film and Best Director at the Japan Academy 2018 awards. It will be screened in the Pálás on Monday April 16 at 8.30pm, in partnership with the Galway Film Society.
Manga fans will be looking forward to the preview screening of Studio Ponoc’s Mary and the Witch’s Flower on Tuesday April 10 in The Eye. Set in a school for witches, this is a sublime blend of magic and fantasy. There will be a special introduction by director Hiromasa Yonebayashi. There will also be screenings of Tokyo Ghoul, the tense, action-packed adaptation of the dark and gruesome manga comic; and Masaaki Yuasa’s The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl, which won the Best Animated Feature at the Japanese Academy 2018.
“This 10th edition of the festival is an excellent start to the next 60-year cycle of diplomatic relations between Japan and Ireland," said Mari Miyoshi, Ambassador of Japan to Ireland. "I hope everyone will enjoy as many films as possible and that they open a window on traditional and contemporary life in Japan."
The festival is organised by The Embassy of Japan and access>CINEMA. Tickets are available from the venues. See www.jff.ie #JFF18
