Japanese film fans can look forward to 13 top-notch flicks at the 11th edition of the Japanese Film Festival set to be held across Malaysia.
Good news for fans of Japanese films because the Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur is set to screen 13 flicks from the land of the rising sun. JFKL has pulled the curtains on the full programme for the Japanese Film Festival 2014 to be held at selected Golden Screen Cinemas venues across the country.
Residents of the Klang Valley will be the first in line to catch the best in Japanese motion pictures when the event opens at GSC Mid Valley, GSC Pavilion KL and GSC One Utama on 11 September. Japan Film Festival 2014 will also be extended to George Town, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu immediately thereafter.
Cinephiles can expect a variety of titles to whet every appetite, from light-hearted mainstream fare to movies that have made the rounds in film festivals the likes of Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto and New York. Heart-warming dramas and rib-tickling comedies dominate the 13-strong list, which includes five new releases making their Malaysian premiere.
Yuki Tanada’s exploration of grief and loss in Mourning Recipe boasts an award-winning cast with a Japan Academy Prize and Venice Film Festival Marco Mastroianni Award to their names. Comedy fans can look forward to period action-farce Samurai Hustle – about a hapless clan leader forced to make an impossible journey to save his village.
Ten-year-old child star Mana Ashida flexes her lead muscles in Isao Yukisada’s The Round Table whilst in Rent-a-Cat, Mikako Ichikawa – who received the prestigious Silver St. George in 2002 – plays a kooky woman who leases out her feline companions to lonely people.
Fly, Dakota, Fly meanwhile is the first ever film to depict the untold story of a British airplane that was forced to make an emergency landing in a remote Japanese island soon after the Allied victory in the Pacific. In spite of initial hostility, the Sadonmon spirit of helping those in need overruled national sentiment, and the villagers helped the passengers on board return home.
Visitors to JFF 2014 will also find definite crowd-pleasers in Hirokazu Koreeda’s Cannes Jury Prize-14 August 2014 winning Like Father, Like Son, Hayao Miyazaki’s swansong biopic The Wind Rises and Initial D Legend 1: Awakening. For complete film listings check out JFKL.com.
The Japanese Film Festival 2014 is set to take place at these venues during these dates:
KLANG VALLEY
Dates: 11 – 16 September
Venues: GSC Pavilion KL, GSC Mid Valley, GSC One Utama
PENANG
Dates: 18 – 21 September
Venue: GSC Gurney Plaza
KUCHING
Dates: 25 – 28 September
Venue: GSC City One Megamall
KOTA KINABALU
Dates: 2 – 5 October
Venue: GSC Suria Sabah Mall
