Special Guests for 2017!!

We are very excited to announce that we will be welcoming two very special guests to this year’s programme:

 

Shuichi Okita

Shuichi Okita began his career making short films, winning the Grant Prix at the 7th Mito Short Film Festival for his short Sharing a Hotpot (2002). Okita moved on to make feature films, directing The Chef of South Polar (2009), his breakthrough film The Woodsman and the Rain (2011) which won numerous awards including the Special Jury Prize at the 24th Tokyo International Film Festival, and The Story of Yonosuke which was included as part of the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2014. Okita will be attending selected screenings of his latest film The Mohican Comes Home:


Daishi Matsunaga

Daishi Matsunaga started his career as an actor, appearing  in a number of films including Waterboys (2001) and Hush! (2002, Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2007). In 2010, Matsunaga made his debut as a director with Pyuupiru 2001-2008 following the contemporary artist “Pyuupiru” for eight years. The documentary film was included in numerous international film festivals including Rotterdam International Film Festival. After directing his documentary Gospel in 2014, Matsunaga made his first fiction film Pieta in the Toilet in 2015. Matsunaga will attend selected screenings of the film at:

 

Don’t miss out on this rare opportunity to meet two of the most exciting and sought-after directors from Japan!