Mana Kotani’s (Yukino Kishii) world is turned upside down the moment she learned that her best friend, and first love, Sumire Utsuki (Minami Hamabe) has died. The bright and bubbly woman she met on her first day of college has gone, there one moment and gone the next. It takes everything she has to keep […]
In 1997, Hana-bi, a Japanese film, became a great cinema hit. As a result, the whole world found out about Takeshi Kitano, who was not only the writer and director of the film, but also portrayed the main role of Yoshitaka Nishi. Hana-bi was awarded the Golden Lion at the 54th Venice International Film Festival […]
UDINE – 10 thousand participants on site in Udine and 15 thousand digital participants from 38 countries around the world: that’s the summary of the success of the Far East Film Festival 23, in its most experimental form yet. The public understood and enthusiastically supported the opening plan (which it might be more accurate to call a […]
Returning with his famous love for shooting in black and white and observing the mundane, Hirobumi Watanabe creates a refreshing and funny reflection on when it means to be a creative and what it means to create in his film Life Finds a Way. Starring as himself, Watanabe is spending the summer living at his […]
Shizuka Suzuki (Ayaka Miyoshi) hates musicals, or at least that’s what she claims after a traumatic incident from her childhood leads her to despise the stage. So, when she decides to take her niece to visit a fair in the park and magician Machin Ueda (Akira Takarada) hypnotises her into turning all life situations into […]
In the colorful world of Japanese manga live-action adaptations and musical-themed film productions, we can find a series of films that center around pop- and rock-bands that practically ooze ‘ikemen’ (good looking men) by the seams, while there is an (un)surprising lack of such films centering on female music groups. The reason for that lies […]
A gentle and emotionally intelligent look at the meaning of family in contemporary Japan. Empathetic, quiet and in-tune with human fragility, this year’s Palme d’Or winner Shoplifters explores the humane need for belonging and connection. Wondering if you can ‘choose’ your family, Hirokazu Koreeda once again perfects the art of drawing genuine heartbreak from an […]
Natileigh – Nats – Sitoy is a Cebuana actress who has been busy making a name for herself as an indie actress in the Philippines. After she won Best Supporting Actress role at Cinema One Originals for her role in Lily, she appeared in Bagahe (2017), in Brillante Mendoza’s Netflix series Amo (2018) and in […]
With its 3rd edition just around the corner, London East Asia Film Festival announced an impressive 2018 line-up. Hye-Jung Jeon, the Director of LEAFF, travelled to ‘each corner’ of the globe, powered by her undying passion for cinema, to make sure that the films she will present at this year’s festival are noteworthy. Dark Figure […]
Yakuza films, as a genre, have evolved exponentially since they first emerged in the silent movie era of the Japanese film industry. Initially depicted as sympathetic Robin Hood-like characters who were forced to live their lives as outlaws, it wasn’t until the 1970s that the violent, brutish image of Yakuza as we know it came […]
VIEW OF THE ARTS 