Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2024 interim report now available

Thank you again to everyone who supported the JFTFP this year!

We’ve now made our interim report on the programme available at the following link.

Download the interim report (PDF)

Feel free to give it a read!

Posted on: 2 April 2024

Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2024 photo album

Thank you to all of you who attended and supported the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2024!

We’ve prepared a special collection of photos from the event below, for you to look back on and remember this year’s unforgettable programme.

Click here to view the photo album.

Posted on: 2 April 2024

Guest appearances for 2024!

We’re excited to announce that not just one, but two directors of JFTFP24 titles will be joining us at select screenings for Q&A sessions!

MAEDA Tetsu, director of Do Unto Others, will be present at:

• Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London (9 Feb)
• QUAD, Derby (10 Feb)
• Queen’s Film Theatre, Belfast (11 Feb)
• HOME, Manchester (12 Feb)

CHIHARA Tetsuya, director of Ice Cream Fever, will be present at:

• Jesus College, Cambridge (3 Feb)
• Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London (4 Feb)
• Phoenix, Leicester (5 Feb)
• Showroom Cinema, Sheffield (6 Feb)

We’ll also be joined by Serena Motola, featured in Ice Cream Fever and Voices in the Wind, after the following showings of Ice Cream Fever:

• Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London (4 Feb)
• Phoenix, Leicester (5 Feb)
• Showroom Cinema, Sheffield (6 Feb)

She will also be giving an introduction before the screening of Voices in the Wind at Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London (4 Feb)!

We’re very glad to have them, and we hope you’re looking forward to meeting them!

For more information, check out our film or venue pages.

About MAEDA Tetsu

Started out in the film industry with a part-time job in a film studio’s props department, then went on to become a production design assistant, and later an assistant director, working on films by Juzo Itami, Yojiro Takita, Yoichi Sai, Junji Sakamoto, Joji Matsuoka, Masayuki Suo and others. Made his feature film directorial debut in 1998 with an installment of an omnibus film supervised by Shinji Somai. Winner of Best Director at the 2021 Hochi Film Awards.

Noted works include omnibus film “Pocky-zaka Koi Monogatari: Kawaii Hito” (1998), “Glow: Bokura wa Koko ni…” (2000), “sWinG maN” (2000), “Pakodate-jin” (2002), “Pole Toppling” (2003), “Gakincho Rock!” (2004), “Parole” (2004), “A Cheerful Gang Turns the Earth” (2006), “Dolphin Blue – Soar Again, Fuji” (2007), “School Days with a Pig” (2008), “Sarulock The Movie” (2010), “Sukiyaki” (2011), “The Boy Inside” (2012), “My Departure” (2012), “A Banana? At This Time of Night?” (2018), “Boku no Suki na Sensei” (2019), “And So the Baton is Passed” (2021), and “What Happened to Our Nest Egg!?” (2021). Upcoming projects include “Mizu wa Umi ni Mukatte Nagareru” (June 2023) and “Daimyo Tosan” (2023).

About CHIHARA Tetsuya

Art Director / Film Director

Representative of the design office “LEMONLIFE & CO.”

Born in Kyoto in 1975.

Responsible for designs across a wide range of genres including advertisements (H&M, 50th CUP NOODLE Collection in Laforet HARAJUKU, etc.), corporate branding (une nana cool, etc.), CD jackets (GARAKUTA by Keisuke Kuwata, Kayoko Yoshizawa, etc.), drama productions, and commercial productions.

Also active in various other fields, for example as a producer and a host of “Katteni Southern Day”; as the founder of “KISS, TOKYO”, a logo that supports Tokyo; and as a director of “Kissa Lemon”, a community aiming to revitalise the city of Fujiyoshida.

Finally, the realisation of his long-held dream of working as a film director, “Ice Cream Fever,” was released in Japan in July 2023.

Previous videos he directed are as follows.

• 2023    　SHIBUYA FASHION WEEK (street movie) https://youtu.be/gBQzyLD0Kdo
• 2022    　“Watashi no Life (My Life)” by Sakura Fujiwara (music video) https://youtu.be/brKXBkqhxHs
• 2022    　“CANDY WAVE” (Kyary Pamyu Pamyu concert tour: opening movie)
• 2020    　“Saishubi” (test movie: short)
• 2020    　“Tokyo Design ga Umareru Hi” (TV drama series) https://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/tokyodesign/
• 2019    　H&M “GOLDEN PASS” (commercial) https://youtu.be/yCp6btZoqYA
• 2017    　“Nokotteru” by Kayoko Yoshizawa (music video) https://youtu.be/6Rp4xvOzHUI

Posted on: 22 December 2023

Young Ambassador Scheme

Are you between 18 and 30 years of age?
We are looking for Young Ambassadors!

Help us promote the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2024 by joining the Young Ambassador Scheme and get a free ticket!

Click here to apply

Posted on: 20 December 2023

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The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme Online Talk 

Roundtable Discussion: What makes Japanese Cinema Memorable?

A roundtable talk with film experts KIMBARA Yuka, ISHIZAKA Kenji, Julian Ross, James Mudge and Espen Bale to explore what makes Japanese cinema memorable, in view of this year’s theme of Unforgettable: Memories, Times and Reflections in Japanese Cinema.

Date: Friday 22 March, 13:00 (GMT)
Online Talk Event hosted on Zoom

Click here to book your space

Posted on: 4 March 2024

JFTFP fans' most memorable films revealed

As part of our roundtable discussion held on 22 March to complement the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2024, we asked participants to tell us which Japanese films were most memorable to them, and compiled a list of their responses.

We’ve now published this list of films at the link below for you to look through!

Is your most memorable Japanese film on the list? Do you agree with everyone else’s choices? Take a look and find out!

Click the links below to download the list, in PDF format:

List of memorable films (by popularity)
List of memorable films (by director)

Thank you to everyone who submitted their most memorable Japanese films!

Posted on: 22 March 2024

Evil Does Not Exist

Urban ambitions clash with nature in a quiet village near Tokyo in this eco-fable from the Oscar and BAFTA-winning director of Drive My Car, Ryusuke Hamaguchi.

Takumi and his daughter Hana live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a glamping site near Takumi’s house; offering city residents a comfortable ‘escape’ to nature. When two company representatives from Tokyo arrive in the village to hold a meeting, it becomes clear that the project will have a negative impact on the local water supply, causing unrest. The agency’s mismatched intentions endanger both the ecological balance of the nature plateau and their way of life, with an aftermath that affects Takumi’s life deeply.

WRITTEN & DIRECTED by Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car)
MUSIC by Eiko Ishibashi
CAST Hitoshi Omika, Ryo Nishikawa, Ryuji Kosaka, Ayaka Shibutani, Hazuki Kikuchi, Hiroyuki Miura

DRAMA | JAPAN | JAPANESE | 106 MINS

ON RELEASE APRIL 5

For further information, check out the website.

Posted on: 29 February 2024

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