[KineJapan] JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film (July 17-30, 2020)

[Joel Neville Anderson (JNA)]

Dear KineJapan subscribers,

The programming team behind JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film is proud to share the full lineup for the online 14th edition of the festival, slated for July 17-30, 2020: 
https://japancuts.japansociety.org/

Films will be available to rent via video streaming with access largely limited to the U.S. Expanding the festival’s reach beyond New York, the lineup includes 30 features and 12 short films. The exclusive selection of film streaming options will be supplemented with live and pre-recorded virtual Q&As, discussion panels, and video introductions from filmmakers to maintain the festival’s sense of community and dedication to intercultural communication during the COVID-19 crisis, creating a meaningful online experience as we look forward to returning to physical cinemas together again in the future.

The Opening Night Selection is SPECIAL ACTORS (dir. Shinichiro Ueda) and the Centerpiece Presentation is FUKUSHIMA 50 (dir. Setsuro Wakamatsu), awarding the 2020 CUT ABOVE Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Film to Koichi Sato and Ken Watanabe. 

In addition, this year’s festival commemorates the life and work of filmmaker Nobuhiko Obayashi (1938-2020). We will present his final film LABYRINTH OF CINEMA, the documentary portrait SEIJO STORY: 60 YEARS OF MAKING FILMS (dir. Isshin Inudo, Eiki Takahashi), a memorial panel, and introduce the Obayashi Prize—a competitive award given to an early career director whose independent narrative feature film is determined as the most accomplished by a jury of diverse industry professionals within the brand-new Next Generation section, the first competitive section in the festival’s history. The inaugural iteration of this section includes seven titles and will be juried by film director Momoko Ando (0.5mm), programmer Julian Ross of Locarno Film Festival and International Film Festival Rotterdam, and producer and Free Stone Productions CEO Miyuki Takamatsu (TEN YEARS JAPAN).

Please browse the entire dynamic lineup on the website, listed below by program section:

FEATURE SLATE
-Extro (dir. Naoki Murahashi)
-Fukushima 50 (dir. Setsuro Wakamatsu)
-It Feels So Good (dir. Haruhiko Arai)
-Labyrinth of Cinema (dir. Nobuhiko Obayashi)
-Mrs. Noisy (dir. Chihiro Amano)
-My Sweet Grappa Remedies (dir. Akiko Ohku)
-On-Gaku: Our Sound (dir. Kenji Iwaisawa)
-Special Actors (dir. Shinichiro Ueda)
-Tora-san, Wish You Were Here (dir. Yoji Yamada)
-Voices in the Wind (dir. Nobuhiro Suwa)

NEXT GENERATION
-Beyond the Night (dir. Natsuki Nakagawa)
-Kontora (dir. Anshul Chauhan)
-Life: Untitled (dir. Kana Yamada)
-The Murders of Oiso (dir. Takuya Misawa)
-My Identity (dir. Sae Suzuki)
-Roar (dir. Ryo Katayama)
-Sacrifice (dir. Taku Tsuboi)

CLASSICS
-Tora-san, Our Lovable Tramp (4K restoration) (dir. Yoji Yamada)
-Tora-san Meets the Songstress Again (4K restoration) (dir. Yoji Yamada)
-Tora-san, My Uncle (4K restoration) (dir. Yoji Yamada)

DOCUMENTARY FOCUS
-Book-Paper-Scissors (dir. Nanako Hirose)
-i -Documentary of the Journalist- (dir. Tatsuya Mori)
-Prison Circle (dir. Kaori Sakagami)
-Reiwa Uprising (dir. Kazuo Hara)
-Seijo Story: 60 Years of Making Films (dir. Isshin Inudo and Eiki Takahashi)
-Sending Off (dir. Ian Thomas Ash)
-What Can You Do About It? (dir. Yoshifumi Tsubota)

EXPERIMENTAL SPOTLIGHT
-Cenote (dir. Kaori Oda)
-Kinta & Ginji (dir. Takuya Dairiki and Takashi Miura)
-Shell and Joint (dir. Isamu Hirabayashi)

SHORTS SHOWCASE (NARRATIVE)
-Birdland (dir. Takeshi Kogahara)
-See You on the Other Side (dir. Yoko Yamanaka)
-Wolf’s Calling (dir. Toshiaki Toyoda)

SHORTS SHOWCASE (DOCUMENTARY)
-Bleached Bones Avenue (dir. Akio Fujimoto)
-Lost Three Make One Found (dir. Atsushi Kuwayama)
-Nana (dir. Fumiya Hayakawa)
-The Sculpture of Place & Time (dir. Tatsuhito Utagawa)
-Tokyo Girl (dir. Nebiro Hashimoto)

SHORTS SHOWCASE (EXPERIMENTAL)
-Bath House of Whales (dir. Mizuki Kiyama)
-Blind Bombing, Filmed by a Bat (dir. Kota Takeuchi)
-Fuel (dir. Yu Araki)
-Wheel Music (dir. Nao Yoshigai)

PANELS
-"Collaboration and Community in Japanese Cinema During the Pandemic"
Panelists: Ryusuke Hamaguchi (filmmaker), Yuko Iwasaki (Japan Community Cinema Center), Yuichi Watanabe (Tofoo Films), Noriko Yamasaki (Osaka Cine Nouveau)
Moderator: Aiko Masubuchi

-"Nobuhiko Obayashi: A Conversation" 
Panelists: Chigumi Obayashi, Noriki Ishitobi (Asahi Shimbun), Yo Nakajima (Theater Kino, Sapporo), Takako Tokiwa (actress)
Moderator: Aaron Gerow

-"New Approaches to Documentary from Japan" 
Panelists (all filmmakers): Ian Thomas Ash, Nanako Hirose, Kaori Oda, Kaori Sakagami 
Moderator: Amber Noé

ONLINE EVENTS
-Opening Night Live Q&A with Shinichiro Ueda
-CUT ABOVE Awards: Koichi Sato & Ken Watanabe
-Closing Night Live Q&A with Obayashi Prize Recipient

We hope many KineJapan subscribers are able to enjoy—please do share with your networks. 
-Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/japansocietyfilm
-Twitter: http://twitter.com/JS_FILM_NYC/ (#JAPANCUTS)

-The JAPAN CUTS Team
K. F. Watanabe, Amber Noé, Joel Neville Anderson