What to expect in this year’s Japanese Film Festival Online
Cinema is among the most powerful and complex art forms throughout the world. To quote Japan Foundation, Manila (JFM) director Ben Suzuki, “Films have intangible impacts on our society. We watch films to be entertained, to be educated, to escape from the humdrum of daily life, and to travel beyond space and time.”
Movies help us understand our own lives, those around us, and how society and culture operate. And this is the heart of the Japanese Film Festival, “to share glimpses of Japanese culture to everyone, one cinematic experience at a time,” says Ben.
Following the success of the Japanese Film Festival Online in 2020, JFM brings back the festival at the comfort of our homes through another virtual iteration, from Feb. 14 to 27.
“The Japanese Film Festival Online 2022 gives viewers the chance to experience and learn Japanese ways and culture, as the featured films mirror our contemporary society and document people’s lives at certain periods in time. Films are indeed powerful vehicles for cultural exchange and bilateral relations,” explains Ben.
From bittersweet coming-of-age stories to thrillers, sci-fi, comedies, documentaries, animation, and heartbreaking titles, these are the films screening.
In It’s a Summer Film! Barefoot is a girl obsessed with samurais. She and her friends decide to make a samurai film and show it at their school festival. She finds out that her friend, Rintaro, is a time traveler from the future.
Under the Open Sky is an award-winning film that tells the story of a former yakuza’s struggles to be accepted by society, as he tries to live an earnest life. Naoki Prize-winning author Saki Ryuzo’s novel Mibuncho serves as the basis for this drama.
Films have intangible impacts on our society. We watch films to be entertained, to be educated, to escape from the humdrum of daily life, and to travel beyond space and time. —Ben Suzuki
Bread of Happiness brims with kindness. Set against the backdrop of the beautiful and harsh four seasons of Hokkaido, the film is adorned with a variety of pastries and dishes made with seasonal ingredients that heal the hearts of the wounded souls.
Mask Ward is an eerie film adaptation of a bestselling book written by a real-life doctor and features two of Japan's leading young actors, Kentaro Sakaguchi and Mei Nagano.
The year 2015 marked the first time that a shogi game software played against a professional human player. Inspired by a true story, Awake is a moving coming-of-age film about a game between man and machine.
An award-winning drama, Aristocrats questions the state of contemporary life through the perspectives of two female protagonists of different backgrounds.
Ito is a fresh and moving tale about a young woman growing out of her shell as well as the preciousness of familial bonds. The contemporary and specific “maid café” culture from Tokyo is juxtaposed with the traditional shamisen music of Aomori giving insight into the uniqueness and breadth of Japanese culture.
Set in Japan about 200 years ago, Mio’s Cookbook is an entertaining period drama that portrays the bond between Miho, who stakes her life on cooking, and Noe, who has become a courtesan or high-class geisha in Yoshiwara, Japan’s largest red-light district.
An animation consisting of a string of episodes told by the customers about their sorrows of being discriminated against is Time of Eve: The Movie. The social settings of the film and issues surrounding old robots getting dumped as garbage provide realistic details to the world depicted. Originally a six-episode online sci-fi animation, it is now re-edited and brought to the big screen with all-new additional scenes.
Patema Inverted is a touching sci-fi animation, written and directed by Yasuhiro Yoshiura, that creatively depicts the beauty of love, friendship, and courage.
Sumodo: The Successors is a documentary with rare access into sumo, Japan’s national sport, and the behind-the-scenes lives of famous sumo wrestlers.
The God of Ramen is a moving documentary that records the life of Kazuo Yamagishi and his legendary ramen shop called “Taishoken” in Ikebukuro, near central Tokyo.
With a humorous and light-hearted touch, Oz Land conveys the joy of working at an amusement park and draws the audience into the happiness experienced by the protagonist.
ReLIFE is a refreshing and touching love story based on the manga series of the same name by Yayoiso. It is about how living out one’s youth to the fullest can affect the direction of one’s future.
The Floating Castle is a riveting historical spectacle about those who stand up for their dignity as samurai, armed with their wisdom, courage, and love for their people. Shot on a massive set, it presents an epic portrayal of Sengoku (Warring States) Period warlord Narita Nagachika, who fought back against a 20,000-strong enemy force with an army of 500 in the late 16th century.
A heartwarming fantasy adapted from the eponymous novel by Naoki Prize-winning author Tsujimura Mizuki, Until the Break of Dawn is a spiritual and humanistic drama that presents the inner conflicts of those who, for various reasons, seek contact with the dead.
Her Love Boils Bathwater is about the bonds between a strong-willed and deeply loving mother and her family. Ryōta Nakano’s drama film was selected as the Japanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards.
A classic Japanese comedy film The Chef of South Polar mixes pathos and humor and follows the bittersweet and charmed daily lives of a group of men living in the Antarctic, where their only joy is to eat.
Happy Flight is an ensemble film depicting on-the-ground staff, cabin attendants, and pilots in action. Through episodes related to the work involved in operating large commercial passenger flights, the film spins an entertaining tale that shows the growth of new staff members with both humor and suspense.
Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon is one of the most celebrated Japanese films in history. A heinous crime is interpreted from the different perspectives of a bandit, a samurai, the samurai’s wife, and a woodcutter. The iconic movie questions whether there is such a thing as truth in this world.
Apart from the online screenings, JFM has prepared a two-part free online webinar called “Let’s Talk about Japanese Films!” in which anyone can participate, even those outside of the Philippines. The first session, aptly titled Your Guide to Japanese Films, will be moderated by Tito Valiente, who will be joined by panelists Prof. Daisuke Miyao, Prof. Nick Deocampo, and film director Sigrid Andrea Bernardo.
The second is Inside the World of JFF 2022 Films. It will feature five young film critics—Skilty Labastilla, Princess Kinoc, Janus Nolasco, and Stepanie Mayo. These prominent and young up-and-coming film professionals will casually discuss the influences of Japanese cinema in the Philippines and the world and tips to watch Japanese films.
There will be online campaigns throughout the festival where viewers will get the chance to win exclusive JFF freebies.
View the films on jff.jpf.go.jp/watch/jffonline2022/philippines/. Follow the official JFM and JFF Philippines Facebook pages and social media accounts for more information.