News

Although mostly known in Japan for his eye-catching TV commercials for products such as Kirin Lemon, Hiroshi Ishikawa‘s cinematic endeavors could not be further away from the style he implemented in his TV work. Movies like “Su-Ki-Da”, “Petal Dance”, are all rather subtle, slow, distinctly art-house dramas revolving around women, and in general, competent enough to show that filmmakers from the particular background can actually come up with non-commercial style movies. His debut ,“Tokyo.sora” also falls under the same category.

Tokyo.sora is screening at Five Flavours

The story revolves around 6 young women, each one trying to make it in Tokyo on different levels. Their paths do not coincide in particular, with only one exception, which immediately highlights how this film is quite different from the majority of similar movies. The first one is a Chinese student living in Japan trying to learn the Japanese language while working...

Sara Masuda's “cafune” is a short but sweet depiction of grief and reflection of a long life that ends just as a new one begins. Masuda is primarily active as a photographer, ranging from promotional materials to artistic works, having participated in a fair share of art galleries, including the Shibuya Street Gallery for the Shibuya Art Festival. Her work “Where is Deep Breath” was prominently showcased through digital signage in Shibuya. Additionally, she is a proactive director of music videos and short films, with “cafune” being her latest cinematic project.

cafune is screening at Short Shorts Film Festival and Asia

19-year-old university student Maye Sora is moving into her new apartment in Tokyo with the help of some friends. However, she receives a message from her sister, Karin, informing her that their grandfather has passed away, urging her to call their mother. She decides to put off confirming the news,...

“Let’s Get Divorced” is a Japanese series on Netflix starring Tori Matsuzaka, Riisa Naka, Ryo Nishikido, and Yuka Itaya.

The show is a comedy that prioritizes entertainment, amusement, and distraction from everyday life. It explores the problems of divorce, but without moralizing. The show is enjoyable, straightforward, and it’s almost impossible not to like the two main characters despite their differences.

The plot revolves around a couple who no longer love each other and wants to get a divorce. Despite their optimism, external circumstances make it challenging to achieve their goal. They must work together to navigate these obstacles and reach their desired outcome.

The show offers a pleasant view of modern Japan, where characters are caught between traditional and modern ways of life. It’s a comedy that lets two great actors do what they do best, making the audience laugh with their eccentric performances and comedic situations.

Netflix has greenlit a trio of series across Japan, Australia and Taiwan, featuring top talent.

Japanese sitcom “Let’s Get Divorced” follows a rookie politician and his actor wife who struggle with their marriage life and they decide to split up. However, their parents and agents don’t allow them to do it. It is co-written by Japan’s top scriptwriters Kankuro Kudo and Shizuka Oishi and the cast includes Tori Matsuzaka, Riisa Naka, Ryo Nishikido, Yuka Itaya, Koji Yamamoto and Arata Furuta.

The series is directed by Fuminori Kaneko, Ryosuke Fukuda and Takuya Sakaue and the TBS Sparkle production is produced by Aki Isoyama and Itsumi Katsuno with Naomi Satoh executive producing for Netflix. It will bow in 2023.

“Boy Swallows Universe” is an adaptation of bestselling Australian author Trent Dalton’s novel of the same name. “‘Boy Swallows Universe’ is about a boy who receives a message on a...

Based on Keiichiro Hirano’s best-selling novel “Machine no Owari ni”, featuring a rather large budget that allowed Hiroshi Nishitani to cast Masaharu Fukuyama and Yuriko Ishida in the protagonist roles, and to shoot in Japan, Paris and New York, “At the End of the Matinee” had all the prerequisites of becoming a masterpiece. A number of issues, though, prevented it from reaching that level.

“At the End of the Matinee” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival

Satoshi Makino is a brilliant classical guitarist who performs at the world’s top concert theaters, but he still is in constant search of musical perfection. Furthermore, he has a captivating persona and is quite popular, although he is not exactly a people’s person, with his only friends actually being his manager, Sanae, and Keiko, the representative of the record label he has a contract with. During one of his tours,...

I have not seen the two films Ninagawa directed in 2019 but her first two, “Sakuran” and “Helter Skelter” are among my favorite Japanese films of all time, both due to their concept and their intense visual style. Thus, I was quite curious to see how her style would be implemented in a TV series and Netflix’s “Followers” provided the opportunity.

The story revolves around four women. Limi Nara is a very successful photographer, who now feels the need to become a mother, despite the fact that she is single. Natsume Hyakuta has come to Tokyo in order to become an actress, but has not managed to do so at all, and she just does whatever job comes her way waiting for her big break. However, her life changes when she meets Hiraku, a YouTuber who used to be in the movie industry when he was younger, and when Limi...

Sneak Peek the new TV series "Followers", focusing on stories of people working, living and playing in Tokyo, Japan, influenced by social media networks, starring Miki Nakatani and Elaiza Ikeda, streaming February 27, 2020 on Netflix:

"...'Rimi Nara' (Nakatani) is a popular photographer. 

"'Natsume Hyakuta' (Ikeda) came to Tokyo to achieve her dream of becoming an actress. But it's not so easy for Natsume to achieve her dream..."

Cast also includes Mari Natsuki as 'Eriko', Yuka Itaya as 'Akane', Kom I as 'Sani', Shuhei Uesugi as 'Hiraku', Nobuaki Kaneko as 'Yuruko', Yutaro as 'Nori', Mika Nakashima, Tadanobu Asano, Hidekazu Mashima, Show Kasamatsu, Naomi Watanabe and Tina Tamashiro.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Followers"...

The Japanese film “37 Seconds” is deceptively delicate and quietly tough. Not unlike its protagonist. We first glimpse Yuma as she rides a crowded commuter train in Tokyo. From the camera’s angle, you might think she’s a kid. Her face is tentative, youthful. She’s shorter than the people around her because she’s in a wheelchair. She has cerebral palsy — as does Mae Kayama, the actress who portrays her — and she has been the sole concern of her mother since her father left, shortly after her birth.

Writer-director Hikari’s first feature won two prizes in the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival last February, followed by an international festival run. Americans can find it on Netflix. Well-paced, artfully shot and edited, “37 Seconds” mixes anime and illustration with live-action to tell the story of the 23-year-old aspiring artist seeking liberation. Yuma ghost writes friend Sayaka’s manga comics.

Casey Affleck-directed drama Light Of My Life, starring Affleck, Elisabeth Moss and newcomer Anna Pniowsky, will get its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in the Panorama section. The dystopian drama, about a father and his young daughter who are trapped in the woods, is one of a raft of additions to the Panorama lineup. Scroll down for the lineup in full.

A total of 45 films from 38 countries, including 34 world premieres, will screen in the section. Panorama’s opening film will be Flatland by Jenna Bass, in which a bride and her pregnant friend make a liberating getaway across South Africa.

Among the strand’s highlights are Affleck’s first narrative feature as director, which is produced by The Imitation Game outfit Black Bear Pictures; Jayro Bustamante’s Ixcanul follow-up Tremblores (Tremors), about a father who tries to break free from his past after breaking the silence about...

22 films in the Panorama programme so far, with nine directorial debuts.

The first 22 titles from the 2019 Berlin Film Festival (Feb 7-17) Panorama programme have been revealed.

Scroll down for the full line-up

The European premiere of UK director Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir, starring Tilda Swinton, her daughter Honor Swinton-Byrne and Tom Burke, and the world premiere of Seamus Murphy’s Pj Harvey documentary A Dog Called Money are among the titles confirmed today.

The line-up also includes the directing debuts of actors Jonah Hill (Mid90s) and Alexander Gorchilin (Acid), and Rob Garver’s documentary What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael,...

The Berlin Film Festival has revealed a large selection of movies for its Panorama strand. Section head Paz Lázaro and co-curator and programme manager Michael Stütz have revealed 22 titles, 14 of which will be world premieres.

Among highlights are Jonah Hill’s directorial debut Mid90s; Jamie Bell starrer Skin, about the USA’s neo-Nazi scene; Tilda Swinton drama The Souvenir; and What She Said: The Art Of Pauline Kael, about the legendary film critic.

Panorama Films:

37 Seconds – Japan

by Hikari (Mitsuyo Miyazaki)

with Mei Kayama, Misuzu Kanno, Makiko Watanabe, Shunsuke Daitō, Yuka Itaya

World premiere – Debut film

Director Hikari, aka Mitsuyo Miyazaki, tells the story of Yuma, a young Japanese woman who suffers from cerebral palsy. Torn between her obligations towards her family and her dream to become a manga artist, Yuma struggles to lead a self-determined life.

Dafne – Italy

by Federico Bondi

with Carolina Raspanti, Antonio Piovanelli,...

Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, “mid90s,” about a 13-year-old skateboarder’s coming of age, and a documentary on influential film critic Pauline Kael are among the works that will screen in the Panorama section of the upcoming Berlin Film Festival.

Films starring Tilda Swinton and Jamie Bell and titles from countries including Israel, Brazil and Japan were also announced in the first batch of 22 Panorama selections unveiled by the Berlinale on Tuesday. Nine of the films are debut works, and 14 will have their world premiere in the German capital. The section is curated by Paz Lázaro and co-curator and program manager Michael Stütz.

“mid90s” follows teenage Stevie as he joins up with four skateboarding punks who take him under their wing. Variety described Hill’s debut film as “a slice of street life made up of skittery moments that achieve a bone-deep reality. And because you believe what you’re seeing,...