The 4th Japanese Film Festival commences its multi-city tour around Ireland on November 6th, showcasing the best in Japanese cinema for Irish audiences. The event expands this year yet again as a result of a hugely popular event last year which showed the appetite around the country for Japanese cinema. Taking place between November 6th – 20th, the Festival will take in Cork (November 6 – 11); Dublin (November 10 – 13); Limerick (November 14 – 15 & 19); Waterford (November 16 – 17); and finally Galway (November 19 – 20).
The Festival will this year feature 9 films, 6 of which are Irish premieres. The most acclaimed filmmakers from contemporary Japanese cinema are included in the packed programme, with a variety of themes, genres and topics to appeal to all audiences.
The 2010 festival boasted sell-out screenings in all locations, and the organisers expect this year to be no different, with a carefully selected programme designed to intrigue, educate and entertain.
“We’re aware of the appetite around the country for world cinema through our day-to-day work with film clubs across the country,” commented Maeve Cooke, Director of access>CINEMA. “Given the nature of the highly acclaimed films that are being consistently produced in Japan, it’s great that we have the opportunity to organise a Festival which can bring this quality international cinema to Irish audiences who have always been massively supportive of the Japanese Film Festival. If you’re not familiar with Japanese cinema, we encourage you to experience some of the richly diverse films from this extraordinary country.”
The Festival, while providing entertainment and escapism, also includes more thought-provoking and challenging titles, aiming to foster a deeper understanding of Japanese culture and society among Irish citizens and to strengthen the cultural ties between the two countries. Additional cultural events will take place on the periphery of the festival showcasing other fascinating and intriguing elements of Japanese culture.
Highlights in the programme include Colorful, the highly acclaimed and multi-award winning animated feature from Keiichi Hara; Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, a mind-bending and surreal time-travel epic animation; the fascinating food documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, which is sure to appeal to the legions of Japanese food fans with its cinematic celebration of the art of sushi; the hilarious Sawako Decides, a thought-provoking satire on class, gender and age made all the more interesting coming from a Japanese point of view; and the award-winning, multi-layered and moving character drama Villain from renowned director Lee Sang-il.
The full programme will be available shortly from Access Cinema, along with further information on additional activities taking place around the touring Festival.
[Press release]
