The Japanese films at this year's Tokyo International Film Festival were a varied lot, from the multiplex fare in the Special Screenings and Japan Now sections to the indies in the Japanese Cinema Splash, Competition and Asian Future sections. But only one came away with ...
Philippine trans people, Scandinavian reindeer herders and a romantic comedy about the Holocaust dominated the closing ceremony of the 29th Tokyo International Film Festival on Thursday. The ceremony at Ex Theater Roppongi opened appropriately enough with awards to individuals who furthered domestic cinema this year, ...
Ichiro Furutachi, a TV personality and former news anchor also known as "the mad chatter," overwhelmed the crowd — and interpreters — at Kabukiza Threatre on Thursday with his nonstop talk. "I have a feeling that non-Japanese today will not be happy when I'm talking ...
For kabuki actor Onoe Kikunosuke and silent film narrator Ichiro Kataoka, keeping old traditions alive and sharing them with as many local and foreign fans as possible remain their mission. Kikunosuke, who performed in an onnagata female role in "Sagi Musume" ("Heron Maiden") in an ...
Shunji Iwai has long stood on ambivalent terrain. To Western audiences he's known as a prolific and brilliant auteur, but without the overseas cachet of others such as Takeshi Kitano. To his fans in Japan, he's viewed as the spokesman for the socially conscious ...
In her newest movie, "Florence Foster Jenkins," Meryl Streep can barely carry a tune as she squeaks and squawks her way through classic opera music. But she wouldn't necessarily consider that an insult. The Academy Award-winning actress plays the titular role of Florence, a real ...
The 29th Tokyo International Film Festival marked its opening Tuesday afternoon with a traditional red carpet ceremony that was heavy on Asian stars and filmmakers. With the festival abandoning its modern, eco-friendly "green carpet" this year, domestic stars dominated the promenade at the Roppongi Hills ...
While sifting through the movies submitted for this year's Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), competition programming director Yoshihiko Yatabe says he noticed a recurring theme. "I was struck by the number of films involving immigrants and refugees," he says. "It's become such a big issue, ...
The Tokyo International Film Festival offers a great once-in-a-year opportunity to see new and classic Japanese films with English subtitles. The sheer quantity on offer — more than 50 titles in the main sections alone — can be overwhelming, though. Here are samples from ...
The most intriguing titles at this year's TIFF celebrate geographical diversity while homing in on social issues of modern life. Whether the characters are in Brazil or Croatia or Japan, or the filmmakers are from Romania, India or China, their stories feature the struggles ...
The 29th edition of the TIFF, like every other festival, has suffered from content bloat over the years, but scanning the schedule carefully is worth the effort. A good place to start is usually the World Focus section; this category doesn't require that films ...
The silent films screened in Japan from the 1920s to '40s were never completely silent. Katsudo-shashin benshi, or benshi for short, delivered live narration that provided everything an audience might need to appreciate a film — from commentary to translation. Derived from Japan's many ...
