<div dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt" id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-141401f2-7fff-3d5b-7dc3-700b08ee57fa"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Dear KineJapan subscribers,</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">first highlights </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">of the </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">23rd Nippon Connection Film Festival</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> are set! From </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">June 6 to 11, 2023, Frankfurt am Main </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">in Germany will once again become the capital of Japanese cinema. For six days, you can immerse yourself in art and cinema from Japan at eight venues. Around </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">100 short and feature-length films</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> showcase the complete range of Japanese cinema – from newcomers to established directors, from anime to documentaries. The film program includes many world,  international,  European and German premieres. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">star guest</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> of this year’s festival is</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> Toko Miura</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">, best known from the Oscar-winning drama </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Drive My Car</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> (2021) by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. The actress and singer will receive the </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Nippon Rising Star Award</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> on June 11, 2023. The new honorary award will be presented at the festival for the first time this year and celebrates outstanding young talents in Japanese cinema. In addition to Drive My Car, Toko Miura can be seen in the anti-love film</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> I Am What I Am</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> (2022, German premiere) by Shinya Tamada and the high school road movie</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> Our Huff And Puff Journey</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> (2015) by Daigo Matsui.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Nippon Connection celebrates great cinema across all genres with many premieres and guests. In Daishi Matsunaga’s multi-award-winning queer love drama </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Egoist</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> (2022), fashion editor Kosuke falls in love with his young fitness trainer Ryuta. This bittersweet love story, bursting with life, will be presented at Nippon Connection as a German premiere with the director in attendance. </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Plan 75</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> (2022) by Chie Hayakawa has also enjoyed international success and will be shown as a German premiere at Nippon Connection. The multi-layered debut film, sketching a provocative dystopian future of Japan’s hyperaging society, was shown at the Cannes Film Festival and was Japan’s entry for the Academy Award. Santa Yamagishi’s fast-paced relationship comedy </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">To The Supreme!</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> (2022) scrutinizes romantic clichés and uncovers the truths behind them.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Things get more fairytale-like in the animated film</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> Gold Kingdom And Water Kingdom</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> (2023). With her feature film debut, anime director Kotono Watanabe has succeeded in creating an imaginative take on the story of Romeo and Juliet that delights with its unconventional characters and a fine sense of humor. In addition, the cult anime series </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Future Boy Conan</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> (1978) by Hayao Miyazaki in the original version with German subtitles will be shown. For fans of Japanese genre cinema, two very special gems will be shown in Germany for the first time: In </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Baby Assassins</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> (2021) and its sequel </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Baby Assassins 2 Babies</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> (2023), the two teenagers Chisato and Mahiro have an unusual side job as tough assassins. Director Hugo Sakamoto’s wild genre mix skillfully switches from the lightness of a slacker comedy to perfectly choreographed action.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Japan is seen as a country of contradictions, with futuristic megacities next to rural regions where time seems to have stopped. This year’s </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">thematic focus Cityscapes And Countryside</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">, supported by the Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, is dedicated to this contrast. The philosophical drama </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The Zen Diary</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> (2022, German premiere) by Yuji Nakae shows the life of a writer in the mountains of Japan – with an astute eye for nature and the flowing of the seasons. A somewhat different period film can be discovered with </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Okiku And The World</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> (2022, German premiere in presence of the producer) by Junji Sakamoto. Set in 1858, it tells the story of two young men who sell excrements from the capital’s toilets as fertilizer in the countryside and meet the beautiful city girl Okiku. Filmmaker Taku Aoyagi worked as a delivery courier in Tokyo during the pandemic and captured the experience in his documentary </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Tokyo Uber Blues</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> (2022, international premiere in presence of the director). The documentary </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">UMUI – Guardians Of Traditions</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> by Daniel López (2022, international premiere in presence of the director) takes us to Japan’s southernmost archipelago of Okinawa and shows people who want to preserve the local traditions of dance and music.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">complete program and tickets</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> will be available on the festival homepage </span><a href="https://nipponconnection.com/de/start/" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">NipponConnection.com</span></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> from </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">May 12, 2023</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">. </span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Press and professional visitors</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> are welcome to apply for a </span><a href="https://nipponconnection.com/en/press/accreditation/" style="text-decoration:none"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:underline;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">festival accreditation</span></a><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> until May 29, 2023</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Besides the festival centers</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm and Produktionshaus NAXOS</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">,</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">further venues will include the Eldorado Arthouse Kino, the Cinema at the DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum, the Mal Seh’n Kino, the NaxosAtelier and the Internationales Theater Frankfurt.</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I’m looking forward to seeing you in Frankfurt!</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Sincerely,</span></p><br><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Florian Höhr</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Program director</span></p></div>