[KineJapan] Kinema Junpo Best Ten 2013

Thu Jan 9 04:20:17 EST 2014

Distributors in Taiwan, for example, are very very smart and ahead of the curve. They not only don't depend on film festivals, they also don't depend on the international trade press in the same manner that they did a decade ago. They're aware of Japanese films while in production and usually buy them sight-unseen based on the cast, some teaser footage and perhaps the script.  

I went to the American Film Market in Santa Monica for the first time in November and would ask Asian buyers what they were watching on the shuttles to the cinemas. They were usually seeing films (including non-Asian films) that they had bought six months before in Cannes. And the Asian films I did watch were very poorly attended, with perhaps a dozen people in screenings.  

In South Korea, the Korean Film Council keeps a record of the prices that local films sell abroad. The exact prices of individual films are kept confidential but they know if the sales to, for example, Germany are up or down 3.5%. I don't know if that happens anywhere else in the world, but it's the kind of information - like transparent box office - that helps make a professional film industry.

I'd like to think that Hollywood is getting its comeuppance at the box office in Japan, China and South Korea because of its lack of reciprocity when it comes to "film flow". Big film industries, like those just mentioned, can more afford to be inward looking because they have a large local audience. But that doesn't work so well in smaller industries like Taiwan, Singapore, Philippines, etc, where Hollywood dominates.

Stephen

On Thursday, 9 January 2014 at 16:52, Jonathan M. Hall wrote:

> Stephen,  
>  
> Your comments on festivals (and their irrelevance for some distributors) are interesting. Thank you.   
>  
> Concerning film flow, I completely agree with the ethics of your position. Of course, history shows us that there are many cultural imbalances when it comes to film distribution. But what interests me about your post to this thread is the implication that such an ethics might also be good business practice these days.  
>  
> Jonathan  
> From: kinejapan-bounces+jmhall=pomona.edu at lists.service.ohio-state.edu (mailto:pomona.edu at lists.service.ohio-state.edu) [kinejapan-bounces+jmhall=pomona.edu at lists.service.ohio-state.edu (mailto:pomona.edu at lists.service.ohio-state.edu)] on behalf of Stephen Cremin [stephen at asianfilm.info (mailto:stephen at asianfilm.info)]
> Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2014 12:37 AM
> To: Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum
> Subject: Re: [KineJapan] Kinema Junpo Best Ten 2013
>  
> Asian buyers do come to TIFFCOM/Tokyo IFF for a subsidised business trip to Japan. But now they're stranded out in Odaiba, far from the festival in Roppongi. There was a bit of business done last year. Nikkatsu, for example, closed deals but chose not to announce during the market. In all, I count 23 Japanese films opening theatrically in Asia this month. About a third of those are being released in Taiwan alone. If that's representative, and it probably isn't, that would mean 250-300 Japanese films per year opening in Asia. Distributors are buying films before they go to festivals based on the cast. Only a handful of distributors pay attention to festival programming.  
>  
> (On release in Taiwan this month are Kanai Junichi's AGAIN (ゆるせない、逢いたい) Hiroki Ryuichi's CRYING 100 TIMES: EVERY RAINDROP FALLS (１００回泣くこと), Yoshida Yasuhiro's LEAVING ON THE 15TH SPRING (旅立ちの島唄　〜十五の春〜), Ishikawa Hiroshi's PETAL DANCE (ペタル ダンス), Furusawa Takeshi's ROOMMATE (ルームメイト), Sudo Tomonori's THE GARDEN OF SINNERS: RECALLED OUT SUMMER (劇場版　空の境界／未来福音), Yamashita Nobuhiro's TAMAKO IN MORATORIUM (もらとりあむタマ子) and Uchida Kenji's KEY OF LIFE (鍵泥棒のメソッド). Six of the Kinema Junpo Best Ten have been, or are scheduled to be, released in Taipei.  
>  
> Looking elsewhere, just one Japanese live action film opens in South Korea this month, Sabu's MISS ZOMBIE, together with five anime. Hong Kong gets Miki Takahiro's GIRL IN THE SUNNY PLACE (陽だまりの彼女), Kumazawa Naoto's JINX!!! (ジンクス！！！) and Mitani Koki's THE KIYOSU CONFERENCE (清須会議). Thailand gets Ochiai Ken's TIGER MASK (タイガーマスク) and Abe Yuichi'S ULTRAMAN ZERO: THE REVENGE OF BELIAL (ウルトラマンゼロ　超決戦！ベリアル銀河帝国). Indonesia gets Togashi Shin's OSHIN (おしん). No Japanese films are currently scheduled to open this month in China, India, Malaysia, Philippines or Vietnam.)  
>  
> In contrast, I count just eight non-Japanese Asian films opening in Tokyo this month, including co-production GENOME HAZARD. I believe that if a country wants an export market to a region, then it has to import films from those territories also. For example, how can Taiwan film-makers expect to understand the market in China when only ten Mainland films are permitted to be imported each year. Similarly, why does Japan "deserve" an export market to Asia when its distributors and festivals (such as Tokyo IFF) are cutting the number of Asian films that they're importing. Perhaps some of that Cool Japan money should be spent subsidising the releasing costs of other Asian films in Japan.  
>  
> I think Mark is correct that Japan's "inward-facing business practices" will continue to limit the potential of the film industry. Google the Taiwan release title of Miki Satoshi's IT'S ME IT'S ME (俺俺) and you won't find a single still of leading actor Kamenashi Kazuya who played 30+ characters in the film. If as a foreign distributor I can't promote Japanese films properly because of the power of the talent agencies, why should I buy them. And don't forget that time that a major festival in Japan blocked foreign press from the SP: THE MOTION PICTURE (ＳＰ　野望篇) press conference because they couldn't trust the Chinese not to take photographers of the stars... at a press conference.  
>  
> Stephen Cremin  
> Taipei/Beijing
>  
>  
> On Thursday, 9 January 2014 at 14:44, Jonathan M. Hall wrote:
>  
> > Some festivals are important for distributors, but the vast majority are not.  I think we need to distinguish here.   Is there a festival in Japan that regularly draws representatives of major distributors of Japanese/Asian film?  Or do those distributors look to other festivals overseas?  Of course, festival-to-festival distribution is itself a vital link, and serves as another channel to audiences and distributors overseas.  My comments are speculative as I am not in the festival industry.  
> >  
> > jmh  
> >  
> > From: kinejapan-bounces at lists.service.ohio-state.edu (mailto:kinejapan-bounces at lists.service.ohio-state.edu) [kinejapan-bounces at lists.service.ohio-state.edu (mailto:kinejapan-bounces at lists.service.ohio-state.edu)] on behalf of Mark Roberts [mroberts37 at mail-central.com (mailto:mroberts37 at mail-central.com)]
> > Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 10:28 PM
> > To: Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum
> > Subject: Re: [KineJapan] Kinema Junpo Best Ten 2013
> >  
> > I second Quentin's observation about the split between the values of festival programmers and more "mainstream" critics.   
> >  
> > After looking at the festival numbers more closely, what really jumped out at me was how much they reflect an almost separate ecosystem. Festivals are markets for distributors, but a surprising number of films don't get sold. Many titles circulate through festivals but never make it to DVD.  
> >  
> > VOD is of course the big hope, but I predict that Japan is going to lag here because the money and power are very centralized. My suspicion is that the same inward-facing business practices will likely replicate themselves under new market conditions. Hope I'm wrong.  
> >  
> > M.
> >  
> > On Jan 9, 2014, at 3:09 PM, Quentin Turnour wrote:  
> > > Apart from the animes and the Kore-ada, THE GREAT PASSAGE, THE DEVIL'S PATH, BACKWATER and TAMAKO IN MORATORIUM are all titles that have been getting some touring festival life and have been seen in both English subbed theatrical copies and screeners. (BACKWATER is on the Festivalscope site for example, for those who can access it)  
> > >  
> > > The frustration often seems to be the odd film that Japanese critics really go for in the poll, but which don't seem to make it even out in international film festival circulation - perhaps because of the split between titles that get championed by festival programmers and those that have mainstream Japanese studio release.  
> > >  
> > > This is re Arron's comments; I suspect the one film I won't get to see on this year's list is PEKOROSU NO HAHA NI AI NI IKU, - whilst an indie film such as ANATOMY OF A PAPERCLIP will probably make it to many a film festival near you, because a number of influential western programmers have got behind it (Just as last year the hard to see film was the #2 THE DRUDGERY TRAIN and the #1 - Yang Yong-hi's brilliant OUR HOMELAND - was only finally seen on the back of a JAL airline seat).  
> > >  
> > > Best wishes  
> > >  
> > > Quentin Turnour, Manager, Arc Canberra Cinema Programs,  
> > > National Film and Sound Archive of Australia,  
> > > quentin.turnour at nfsa.gov.au (mailto:quentin.turnour at nfsa.gov.au)  
> > > Fax: +61 2 6249 8159  
> > > Ph +61 2 6248 2054  
> > > Mob: + 61 4 428 368908  
> > > [Please note that I am often absent Mondays]  
> > >  
> > > All mail and freight shipments to:  
> > > att: Cinema Programming (Quentin Turnour),  
> > > Loading Dock, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia,  
> > > McCoy Cct, Acton, Canberra,  
> > > ACT 2601, AUSTRALIA.  
> > > Freight shipment inquiries to Cynthia Piromalli:  
> > > cynthia.piromalli at nfsa.gov.au (mailto:cynthia.piromalli at nfsa.gov.au)  
> > > ph +61 2 628 2289  
> > >    
> > >  
> > >  
> > >  
> > >  
> > > From:        Mark Roberts <mroberts37 at mail-central.com (mailto:mroberts37 at mail-central.com)>  
> > > To:        Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum <kinejapan at lists.service.ohio-state.edu (mailto:kinejapan at lists.service.ohio-state.edu)>,  
> > > Date:        09/01/2014 04:50 PM  
> > > Subject:        Re: [KineJapan] Kinema Junpo Best Ten 2013  
> > > Sent by:        kinejapan-bounces at lists.service.ohio-state.edu (mailto:kinejapan-bounces at lists.service.ohio-state.edu)  
> > >  
> > >  
> > >  
> > > Hi Jonathan,  
> > >  
> > > The 5% number is based upon me having checked the 90 new Japanese films screened at TIFF from 2007 to 2012, as well as all of the Japanese films screened at FILMeX since its inception, putting all of these titles into a database, and then checking them on IMDB and Amazon for distribution and availability. I am not trying to count fan-subbed versions of films because I assume they are all illegal.  
> > >  
> > > My report on TIFF has more details about patterns of international distribution:  
> > >  
> > > http://www.tokyoartbeat.com/tablog/entries.en/2013/11/tiff-2013-a-change-of-course.html  
> > >  
> > > For FILMeX, the details are in my report for forthcoming Directory of World Cinema: Japan 3 from Intellect Books.  
> > >  
> > > Of course, IMDB and Amazon are not perfect data sources. If anybody has suggestions about more comprehensive online sources, I'm all ears.  
> > >  
> > > Best,  
> > >  
> > > Mark  
> > >  
> > >  
> > > On Jan 9, 2014, at 2:14 PM, Jonathan M. Hall wrote:  
> > >  
> > > Mark,  
> > > Regrettably, this doesn't surprise me. Is your 5% figure one you're estimating? Or is there some research or official figure you're referring to?  
> > > Jonathan  
> > >  
> > > For reference, only about 5% of the new Japanese films screening in festivals here appear to be making it onto DVD, BR, or VOD outside of Japan.  
> > >  
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