Tag - film-festivals

 
 

FILM FESTIVALS

Director Toshihiko Tanaka (left) is pictured in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on Feb. 2, after his film, "Rei," won the top Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
CULTURE / Film
Feb 5, 2024
Toshihiko Tanaka wins top prize for 'Rei' at Rotterdam film festival
The Japanese film "Rei" directed by Toshihiko Tanaka won the top Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, an annual event for up-and-coming filmmakers.
Cinema at Sea film festival entry “God Is a Woman,” directed by Andres Peyrot, examines the complex feelings the Kuna, indigenous people living on Panama’s San Blas Islands, have about an unreleased documentary made about them in 1975.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 9, 2023
Cinema at Sea festival highlights diversity and unheard voices
The inaugural event for the film festival in Naha, Okinawa, boasted a strong lineup of features from places and peoples underrepresented in world cinema.
Director Wim Wenders served as president of the competition jury at this year's Tokyo International Film Festival. Wenders' "Perfect Days," which opened the festival and features Koji Yakusho as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo, is Japan’s nominee for the Academy Awards’ best international feature film category.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 11, 2023
'Perfect Days' and '(Ab)normal Desire' turn heads at Tokyo International Film Festival
Wim Wenders' film opened the event, while Yoshiyuki Kishi’s multilayered drama made a splash, taking both the Audience Award and the best director prize.
Director Hideo Jojo made the switch from soft-core adult films to more mainstream entertainment with “On the Edge of Their Seats,” a drama about four teenagers watching their high school baseball team lose an important tournament game.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 10, 2023
'Pink film' director Hideo Jojo gets the red carpet treatment
Tokyo's annual film festival named Jojo — who has made over 100 titles, from soft-core adult films to theatrical features — this year's Director in Focus.
Busan International Film Festival host Song Kang-ho presents the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award to veteran Hong Kong star Chow Yun-fat at the 2023 edition of the Asian film festival.
CULTURE / Film
Oct 18, 2023
Film fans flock to Busan festival despite scandal
Busan International Film Festival remains a prestige Asian movie event amid internal strife and budget cuts.
Tatsuya Fuji
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 1, 2023
Japanese actor Tatsuya Fuji wins top lead actor prize at San Sebastian
San Sebastian's international film festival is considered one of the most prestigious in Europe alongside those of Cannes, Berlin and Venice.
The Toronto International Film Festival opened on Sept. 7 with admiring applause for "The Boy and the Heron," Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki's latest movie — a meditation on love, loss and the horrors of World War II.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 16, 2023
Hayao Miyazaki has ideas for next project after 'The Boy and the Heron'
Junichi Nishioka, Studio Ghibli's vice president for international distribution, says the director "shows the willingness to create something new."
Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi poses with the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize award for the movie "Evil Does Not Exist" at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in Venice on Saturday.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 10, 2023
Japan's Hamaguchi wins runner-up Grand Jury Prize at Venice
Hamaguchi has garnered global accolades, including for "Drive My Car," which won the best international feature at the 94th U.S. Academy Awards last year.
Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi attends the 80th Venice Film Festival for the premiere of his new movie, "Evil Does Not Exist."
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Sep 7, 2023
Ryusuke Hamaguchi revives himself with dark nature film
The Japanese director found solace in nature with his new film "Evil Does Not Exist," which premiered at Venice on Monday.
Filmed in black and white, concert film “Opus” focuses on the physicality of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s performance.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Sep 7, 2023
Ryuichi Sakamoto's last performance captured by son in Venice 'Opus'
In late 2022 celebrated Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, stricken with terminal cancer, spent nine days at a Tokyo studio performing 20 of his much-loved pieces from across his career.
Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” follows a young boy who enters a strange realm on a quest to find his missing stepmother.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 4, 2023
‘The Boy and the Heron’ hype ramps up ahead of English release
Pairs of tickets to the Hayao Miyazaki film’s international debut at the Toronto International Film Festival are reselling for as much as ¥45,000.
Veteran broadcaster and DJ Peter Barakan has been a fixture in Japanese music media for decades. He is now in his third year as curator and namesake of Peter Barakan’s Music Film Festival, which kicks off in Tokyo today.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 1, 2023
Peter Barakan's Music Film Festival celebrates cinema and song
The three-week event kicks off its third edition with 31 films including documentaries, concert films and narrative films centered on music.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 29, 2023
Animated Polish-Japanese story wins top prize at Asia short film fest
Izumi Yoshida takes the George Lucas Award for her short based on the so-called Siberian Children who were rescued by the Japanese Red Cross Society following the Russian Revolution.
JAPAN / Media
Jul 29, 2020
Asia short film festival to be held in September after 3-month delay
The Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, one of Asia's largest film festivals held annually in Tokyo, will take place from Sept. 16 to 27 after being postponed for three months due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, its organizer said Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 26, 2020
Skip the trip to Italy and binge Asian cinema online
As we head into summer, now is the time to crank up the air-conditioning, get comfortable and delve into Japanese cinema with these recommendations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 14, 2020
Asia-themed film festivals migrate online amid COVID-19
Overseas film festivals that specialize in Japanese and other Asian fare are taking their programs online to survive the coronavirus.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 20, 2018
With 'Shoplifters,' Hirokazu Kore-eda becomes first Japanese director to win Cannes Palme d'Or in 21 years
Hirokazu Kore-eda wins the coveted Palme du2019Or at Cannes for u201cShoplifters,u201d a critically acclaimed family drama with unguessable plot twists.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 17, 2018
Udine film festival can teach Japanese directors a few things about international appeal
I've been an adviser to the Udine Far East Film Festival since 2000. The event, held in Udine, Italy, is the largest festival in Europe dedicated to popular cinema from Asia.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2016
Japanese pro-whaling documentary to be screened at U.S. film festival
A documentary introducing the voices of Japanese people who support whaling and dolphin hunting will be screened at a U.S. film festival in October, its director said Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 26, 2016
Film festival for people with disabilities helps share theater experience
A film festival in Hokkaido geared to the blind and deaf will celebrate its 11th year in June.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world