The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme (JFTFP) is back for its 22nd edition!
The UK’s biggest festival of Japanese cinema, the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme (JFTFP25), is back for its latest entertaining and thought-provoking instalment, presenting a packed programme on the theme of ‘Justice, Justification and Judgement in Japanese Cinema’.
In a world where injustice runs rampant, cinematic expressions of justice seem inexhaustible: time and time again, heroic protagonists fend off malicious antagonists or enact their revenge, with the constant injustices they face mirroring those of audiences. Japanese film is no exception to this, and the JFTFP25 promises to showcase how Japanese filmmakers use the language of cinema to explore the concepts of criminal, social and moral justice, along with the ways people respond to external judgement. Featuring everything from thought-provoking hidden gems, powerful true-life tales, women-led stories, anarchic comedies, and unearthed retrospective titles, UK audiences are invited to join the festival in questioning the very concepts of justice, justification and judgement against today’s backdrop of ever-changing values and perspectives.
Highlights include
- Day and Night (Dir. Michihito Fujii, 2019, 134 min, UK Premiere) - Shōgun star Shinnosuke Abe stars in a powerful thriller that unflinchingly tackles a wide range of social issues, from whistle‐blowing and suicide to orphanhood and crime
- Bushido (2024, 129 min, UK Premiere) - vicious emotional conflicts of honour and revenge collide in this unmissable new twist on the samurai genre.
- 99% Cloudy... Always (2023, 110 min, UK Premiere), an uncompromising drama exploring the conventional standards enforced on women on the autism spectrum
- A Girl Named Ann (2024, 113 min, UK Premiere) a painful, emotionally‐charged and hard-hitting slice of social realism tackling a range of topical contemporary issues, this true-life story follows a young woman who, having endured a traumatic childhood, looks to rebuild her life
- Ghost Cat Anzu (2024, 97 min) - this year’s animated entry is a visually stunning joy that brings the world of Japan’s yokai (ghosts) to vibrant, charming life when a young girl stays at a temple with her grandfather's six foot tall, bipedal, talking cat!
Carmen Comes Home (1951, 86 min), a retrospective title and the first ever Japanese feature film produced in full colour sees a dancer return to her rural hometown, with her behaviour and dress sense soon causing confusion and upset as the film humorously depicts shifts in post‐war moral standards.
The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2025: 7 February - 4 March 2025
Various venues around the UK
Further information: https://www.jpf-film.org.uk/