The Press Release:
A film festival that introduces Japanese-themed short films, New York Japan CineFest, is celebrating the 11th year and going hybrid for the first time, from November 14th to November 20th.
As an opening event, the in-person screening, featuring selected 9 films, will be held at Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave at 38th St, at 7pm on Monday, November 14, 2022. Some guest directors are scheduled to appear on stage.
Online screening will be available from November 15th through 20th at http://watch.nyjcf.com 21 short films can be watched with a purchase of festival pass at $15.00 within the territory of the United States.
Hosted by Mar Creations with the partners, CYBER New York, Japan Information and Culture Center (Embassy of Japan in Washington D.C.), Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia, Sapporo International Short Film Festival and Aichi International Women’s Film Festival.
2022 program includes:
Directed by Toshiyuki Teruya and starring Hikaru Mitsushima, “A Woman Who Acts. A conversation between a father and daughter which shot during the pandemic, “Fa(r)ther”. High speed Science Fiction ANIME, “Adarnia”. Based on the mystery novel by Fuboku Kosakai, “Corpse Candle”. Portrayal of teenage girls, “Toes Intertwind”. Documentary about Godzilla movies, “The Dawn of Kaiju Eiga”. Response to the hatred towards Asian people during the pandemic, “Chinatown Beat”. Animation about the Canadian immigrant father and daughter, “In the Shadow of the Pines”. Documentary about the roots of the Japanese tattoo culture, “Horimono”. Documentary about how refusals are treated in Japan, “NANMIN”. Experimental animation, “OTONASHI”.
NYJCF was founded by three Japanese producers based in New York in 2012; Yasu Suzuki (Actor, dancer and filmmaker), Kosuke Furukawa (Film director) and Hiroshi Kono (CEO of Mar Creation, Inc.) Since 2015, the film festival has been invited to screen its programs and films in multiple cities; Boston, Washington D.C. Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco in the U.S. and also at film festivals in Japan; Aichi International Film Festival Sapporo International Short Film Festival and Market, Kadoma International Film Festival and New Director Film Festival. In the 11th year, NYCJF will be held in-person and online for the first time.
Dates: Monday, November 14, 2022 – Sunday, November 20
[In-person Screening]
Date: Monday, November 14, 2022
Show 7:00pm (2 hours)
Place: Scandinavia House
Address: 58 Park Ave, NYC (@ 38th St)
Tickets (valid for online as well):
-Adults: Advance: $15.00 / At door: $18.00
-Students: Advance: $12.00 / At door: $15.00
Purchase link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/new-york-japan-cinefest-2022-in-person-screening-tickets-463641964597
Official Festival site: http://watch.nyjcf.com
[Online Screening]
Dates: Tuesday, November 15, 2022 – Sunday, November 20, 2022
Place: on-demand online
Festival Pass (valid for in-person as well) : $15 + suggested donation
Purchase/Watch: http://watch.nyjcf.com
[Program]
“Veils”
Dir. Erika Nakayama | 2021 | 17:57 | drama | Japan
Ayumi Tani, an owner of a small bookstore, and Sayaka Murakami, a call center worker, are a lesbian couple living together. While They feel somewhat stifled by the fact that they are part of LGBTQ community, They are looking forward to having a wedding-style photoshoot to celebrate their anniversary.
“Lost in Eden”
Dir. Hakim Hayashi | 2021 | 14:31 | drama | Japan
Rika, a young Japanese girl lives with her new French husband Isaac in Paris. She finally manages to renew her residence permit after the long struggle through chaotic French administration. However, a man from the Japanese Embassy brings a cruel reality to her and menaces: we have to deal with your parent’s situation. She faces the Cornelian dilemma.
“Kurosawa’s Grave”
Dir. Ben Lopez | 2021 | 13:47 | documentary | United States
Viewed through the eyes of an expert cinephile, this pilgrimage to Japan and love letter to Akira Kurosawa will transport the audience to a moment where modernity meets nostalgia.
“Bigger Is Better”
Dir. Larry Tung | 2021 | 24:57 | documentary | Taiwan
Bigger Is Better is a documentary about the identity culture and body politics of the bear subculture within a larger gay male community in Asia. It takes the audience to Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China to meet with stakeholders and examines the development of this unique subculture and its meaning and impact.
“I Love Today’s Sky”
Dir. Kazuma Yano | 2022 | 6:26 | drama | Japan
Do you remember yesterday’s sky? The sky always extends beyond your upward gaze. I love today’s sky where clouds scatter leisurely. The poet Shuntaro Tanikawa wrote a new poem entitled “I Love Today’s Sky”. Based on this poem describing a bright future.
“MaTcH”
Dir. Masaki Katsuyama | 2022 | 20:00 | drama | Japan
An old Japanese mother, Haruko comes to Tokyo from Osaka to see her 30 years old son, Shuji.
Her purpose of the visit is setting up a matchmaking for him because he is still a single man.
However, Shuji already uses a matching app to find his partner.
“The Voice Actress”
Dir. Anna J. Takayama | 2022 | 15:06 | drama | Japan
Kingyo, a veteran voice actress working in Tokyo, possesses a unique ability to see the soul in all things, living and inanimate. The voice acting world is changing and Kingyo must find a way to reconcile her way of living with the modern industry.
“CASSETTE TAPE”
Dir. Yurugu Matsumoto | 2020 | 23:25 |drama | Japan
The young office worker Saki is looking forward to the birthday date with her boyfriend, with whom she has been for three Years together. However, because of his Work, she is all the more surprised, as he suddenly the next day with a marriage proposal arrives. However, Saki’s father is anything but Enthusiastic and responsive to their wedding plans.
“Submittan”
Dir. Susumu Kimura | 2021 | 18:14 |drama, Sci-Fi, Dystopian | United States
In the future city of Submittan, people over 80 years old are forced into ‘retirement’ to a remote mountain area, as the city deals with increased population. The burden falls on the shoulder of an immigrant artist, who is tasked to design a propaganda poster to convince citizens of this new registration.
“KAGEBOSHI”
Dir. Ken Ochiai | 2020 | 5:02 | drama, horror | United States
In the 1930’s, a Japanese-American father & daughter must play a deadly game of shadow tag to escape from a demon child, Kageboshi.
“Never Give Up: Akinori in Mooresville”
Dir. Royce Akifumi Wilmot | 2022 | 13:12 | documentary | United States
24 years since first attending a NASCAR race, Akinori Ogata chases his dream of one day racing in the Daytona 500. Moving his family halfway across the world in the process, he races locally in the lower series of NASCAR, working for his big break.
“Above Water”
Dir. Ken Honjo, Kentaro Yoshimura | 2022 | 26:00 | documentary, environmental | United States
On the remote island of Sarichef off the Northwest coast of Alaska, 20 miles below the Arctic Circle, there’s a small village they call Shishmaref. Every year, it continues to get smaller as rising water levels erode away at its shores. In the summer of 2021, two artists were invited to the island to paint a mural, but as they learned more about the culture and the impact of the melting permafrost.
“Final Deathtination” (SSFF)
Dir. Marika Tamura | 2021 | 2:05 | animation | United States
A suicidal man encounters “Death” who is a “travel agent” to find the best place to die.
Living While Black in Japan (SSFF)
Dir. Shiho Fukada & Keith Bedford | 2021 | 15:13 | documentary | Japan
African Americans in Japan discuss how racial issues in the U.S. affected their decision to live abroad.
“MARE” (SSFF)
Dir. Tamaki Ishida & Akito Kawabe | 2022 | 7:46 | animation, Sci-Fi | Japan
In a world which became a wasteland of toxic gas, there’s a painter who lives in isolated shelter. He draws paintings of oceans. Why does he make these paintings? What happened to the world? This is a story about our near future, with environmental pollution and sheltered life.
“Summer Ends” (SSFF)
Dir. Yuka Doi | 2021 | 23:53 | drama | Japan
Botan has a father who is a sparkler maker. One day, she is frustrated because she is not allowed to make sparklers, and her father, Yanagi, has a falling out with her. Several years later, Botan, now an AD at a video production company, has no choice but to return to her estranged parents’ home for an interview.
“just another summer day” (SSFF)
Dir. Yoshika Matsuoka | 2021 | 25:00 | drama | Japan
It was “just” a summer day spent with someone she didn’t know, who was drunk and had lost her memory.
“Pain of the Anonymous” (SISFF)
Dir. Daichi Amano | 2021 | 27:00 | drama | Japan
Struggling to find work and entrenched in a personal health crisis, a former middle school teacher accepts a position as an online content moderator. She is faced daily with death, violence, and abuse—and reminders of unspeakable past traumas.
“Siblings” (AIWFF)
Dir. Yoko Sato | 2021 | 39:55 | drama | Japan
Nozomi (Miho Nakanishi) has a younger sister, Kie, with mental disability but has yet to tell her boyfriend, Takashi (Rikuto Kumaki), about her. One day, Nozomi finally informed him of Kie upon their engagement and Takashi got confused. From there, Nozomi faces a series of problems peculiar to a family with disabilities, and there, she starts to reconsider her life.
“Mi”
Dir. Masayoshi Nakamura & Zak Engel | 2022 | 4:23 | animation | United States
This film is the journey of father and son. The young son enters into this crazy and unknown world, and the father tries to guide him though as best as a father could. Somethings the father himself doesn’t fully understand, and he lets the son know that’s ok.
“Ukujima”
Dir. Tekko Nogami | 2021 | 4:02 | drama, history | Japan
Today’s travelers follow the path of Iemori Taira that has been passed down to Ukujima, and while thinking about it, they will eventually synchronize as they come into contact with a livelihood for life and culture of the people on the island that are still alive. past and future. It is a journey story that encounters a miracle that “people return to themselves.”
* In associated with
– SSFF: Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (SSFF & ASIA)
– SISFF: Sapporo International Short Film Festival
– AIWFF: Aichi International Women’s Film Festival
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