Twitter

EXPLORE THE JAPANESE FILM FESTIVAL AUSTRALIA 2023

The 27th Japanese Film Festival (JIFF) Australia 2023 is back, starting with film screenings in Canberra (30 September - 15 October), Perth (16-22 October), Brisbane (6-22 October), Melbourne (23 October - 5 November) and Sydney (23-31 October). The theme for 2023 tackles the continuing connection between past and present.

www.japanesefilmfestival.net

Proudly presented by The Japan Foundation Sydney, the Sydney festival starts on 23 October with the opening night film on feudal comedy WE’RE BROKE, MY LORD! from renowned director Tetsu Maeda, about egalitarian dreams foiled by an unexpected inheritance. 

A festival highlight is the young romance film WE MADE A BEAUTIFUL BOUQUET, which explores the start and travails of a young couple as they balance their affections with the demands of society and work life. Written by Cannes winner Yūji Sakamoto (MONSTER), this moving romance will immerse you in the innocence and realities of young love.

For film fanatics, there is the biographical doco CITIZEN KATANO, which follows the life and career of filmmaker and actor Takeshi Kitano, more famous for his comedy such as the ever-popular TAKESHI’S CASTLE than his critically acclaimed films like the Golden Lion yakuza crime drama winner HANA-BI. It is a compelling study of a creative individual whose prolific output varies from mundane popular comedy to serious films exploring the Japanese psyche’s dark realities.

A combination historical biopic FATHER OF THE MILKY WAY RAILROAD chronicles the life of legendary poet and novelist Kenji Miyazawa, a beloved Japanese children’s author. A story of a wealthy father’s support for his son’s innovatively quirky approach to life as an artist and original thinker. The drama is quite moving in peering at Kenji’s struggles with his eccentric life choices and the unconditional support he still receives from his father.

A peek into Japan’s LGBTQIA+ community is highlighted in NATCHAN’S LITTLE SECRET, a bittersweet comedy road movie about three drag queens who attend the funeral of their closeted drag friend out in a remote country community in Japan. Their experience is an eye-opening insight into the gender-fluid traditions of the country and the people who are more tolerant and accepting than what the toned-down trio would have expected.

Aside from the new releases, JFF 2023 also takes a retrospective journey with its free JFF Special Series, celebrating the masterful works of filmmaker Kо̄ Nakahira, a pioneer of the international New Wave Movement in post-war Japanese cinema, whose visionary imagination and genre-defying masterpieces left a lasting mark in Japanese cinema. Nakahira’s prolific twenty-year career experimented across narrative styles and cinematic formats, producing over forty features during the 50s and 60s.

The program of events in all five major cities are: 

Canberra 30 September – 15 October

Opening Reception: 11 October at Palace Electric

Latest Releases: 11-15 October at Palace Electric

Special Series: 30 Sept-1 Oct at NFSA

Perth 16-22 October

Opening Reception: 16 October at Palace Raine Square

Latest Releases: 16-22 October at Palace Raine Square

Brisbane 6-22 October

Opening Reception: 18 October at Palace Barracks

Latest Releases: 18-22 October at Palace Barracks

Special Series: 6-7-8 & 11 October at QAGOMA

Melbourne 23 October – 5 November

Opening Reception: 23 October at The Kino

Latest Releases: 23-29 October at The Kino, Palace Balwyn

Special Series: 2-5 November at ACMI

Sydney 23-31 October

Opening Reception: 26 October at Palace Norton Street

Latest Releases: 26-31 October at Palace Central, Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona

Special Series: 23-25 October at The Chauvel

Like this article?

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on Linkdin
Share on Pinterest
Rolmar Baldonado

Rolmar Baldonado

Films for the cineaste. Were you moved, transported? Did you laugh, cry? Was it cathartic? Were you disturbed, affected, riveted? Did it make you think? Freelance film editor, cineaste and cinephile Twitter: @film_critik Twitter: @rolmar Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/filmcritik/

More To Explore
Movie Reviews

TCHAIKOVSKY’S WIFE – A Cinematic Study on Self-Destructive Obsession

Not much is known about famed Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s wife, Antonina Miliukova. Wikipedia summarises her in Tchaikovsky’s biography with just a few statements, stating that their marriage in 1877 was “a disaster” and they were “mismatched psychologically and sexually” and only lived together for six weeks before Tchaikovsky left her, as he was emotionally agitated and suffered “from acute writer’s block.” Their separation forced Tchaikovsky to confront the truth about his sexuality with the support of his family. Ultimately, he “never blamed Antonina for the failure of their marriage.”

Rolmar Baldonado November 9, 2022
Festival Reviews

KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL 2023 – OPENING NIGHT FILM – THE NIGHT OWL

The Korean Film Festival is back in 2023 from 24-29 August at Event Cinema George Street, Sydney. Its opening night film is that grand historical murder mystery thriller, THE NIGHT OWL, amidst familial jealousy and political intrigue of Korea’s bygone kingdom.

Rolmar Baldonado August 28, 2023