News

On the occasion of his films, Her Love Boils Bathwater, A Long Goodbye and The Asadas screening at at Japan Society as part of Family Portrait: Japanese Family in Flux program, Ryota Nakano talks to Panos Kotzathanasis about him working on family dramas, how has changed through the years, the three movies in detail, working with Tsutomu Yamazaki and the late Yuko Takeuchi, Masashi Asada and other topics.

Family-centred dramas seem to have become the specialty of director Ryota Nakano since his feature debut “Capturing Dad”. His 2016's film “Her Love Boils Water” earned him a remarkable number of awards and nominations and “A Long Goodbye” was the following work, with a stellar cast. It will be followed in 2020, by another family narration, “The Asadas”, where a real story gives him a vehicle to talk about the dramatic events of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

A Long Goodbye is screening at Japan Society as part of the Family Portrait program

It's 2007 and Fumi (Yu Aoi) and older sister Mari (Yuko Takeuchi) are summoned by their mum Yoko (Chieko Matsubara) to celebrate the 70th birthday of their father Shohei (Tsutomu Yamazaki), a former headmaster, stern and entirely dedicated to his work. Soon it's clear that the birthday celebration is just an excuse to deliver an uneasy message. Shohei was...

Presented by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, and Japan Society

February 15-24, 2024 at Japan Society

and partner venues in NYC

New York, NY – Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan and Japan Society are proud to announce the eighth installment of the Aca Cinema Project film series – Family Portrait: Japanese Family in Flux – an ongoing initiative fostered by the Government of Japan to increase awareness and appreciation of Japanese films and filmmakers in the United States. The Aca Cinema Project has presented events in both New York and LA since 2021, and its upcoming edition will showcase over nine contemporary and classic films from February 15-24, 2024 all with the central theme of the modern family. The bonds of the Japanese family are often revered in the West, and this series will both celebrate these traditions as well as call into question their reality and relevance in our quickly changing modern world.

As part of the Aca Cinema Project––”an ongoing initiative fostered by the Government of Japan to increase awareness and appreciation of Japanese films and filmmakers in the United States”––Japan Society will run “Family Portrait: Japanese Family in Flux” from February 15-24. A mix of American premieres and repertory showings, this series puts “bonds of the Japanese family” front and center to “both celebrate these traditions as well as call into question their reality and relevance in our quickly changing modern world.”

U.S. premieres include Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s Yoko, starring Rinko Kikuchi, and Keiko Tsuruoka’s Tsugaru Lacquer Girl. A special spotlight is given to Ryota Nakano, whose A Long Goodbye and exquisitely titled Her Love Boils Bathwater will be making New York debuts; his 2020 feature The Asadas also plays.

Repertory screenings will be held for Kohei Oguri’s Muddy River, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Tokyo Sonata, Kore-eda’s Still Walking,...

The 20th edition of Skip City International D-Cinema Festival had been physically held from July 15 to July 23 (and virtually from July 22 to July 26), and wrapped at the Closing Ceremony, Sunday July 23. Jury and Audience award winners were announced at the Ceremony.

For the International Compeition, an Asian Premiere film, When the Seedlings Grow (Syria), directed by Rêger Azad Kaya, received the Grand Prize. I Woke Up with a Dream (Argentina, Uruguay), directed by Pablo Solarz, won the Best Director and Six Weeks (Hungary), directed by Noémi Veronika Szakonyi received the Special Jury Prize. This year's jury members were Masao Teshima, President of the Jury and a renowned producer from Asmik Ace, Naomi Akashi, the producer of Egoist (Dir. Daishi Matsunaga) and Patrice Nezan, a French producer, who produced the festival's 2019 winner The Tower (Dir. Mats Grorud). In addition, Midwives (France), directed by Léa Fehner, was chosen for the Audience Award.

With a decade having passed since the 2011 disaster in Japan, a number of directors have turned their look towards the incident and its consequences, with “Fukushima 50” being the most renowned. Using the photography books of Masashi Asada as inspiration, Ryota Nakano presents a radically different take on the concept, by combining it with a distinctly anthropocentric story.

“The Asadas” is screening at Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema

Since he was a small kid, Masashi has shown an interest in photography, particularly since his father Akira took a picture of him and his brother, Yukihiro, during an excursion. Recognizing his talent, the whole family obliges to his whims of photographing them all showing off their dream jobs or other aspirations, including photos as yakuza, race drivers, firemen, and members of a band, among others. However, their constant will to help has made Masashi a self-centered, spoiled young man, whose...

Leila Hatami, Iranian actress, silver bear in Berlin for A Separation by Ashgar Faradhi, an Iranian film with one million admissions in France, will be the president of the international Jury. The other members are: Suha Arraf, director (Palestine), Zig Dulay, director (Philippines), Yerlan Nurmukhambetov, director (Kazakhstan), Tran Bich Quan, distributor-producer (France).

Koji Fukada, the rising star of Japanese directors, will present all of his films in world premiere.

Both will receive a Cyclo d’or d’honneur for their entire career or their work during the opening ceremony on February 1, 2022.

Moshen Makhmalbaf, multi-award-winning Iranian director, and Atiq Rahimi, Afghan director, Goncourt Prize 2008, signatories of the appeal of July 29, 2021 “let’s save Afghan artists! », will present several films during the Afghan Day.

A tribute will be paid to filmmaker Marc Haaz, technical director of Fica, who died tragically, at the age of 33, on July 30, 2021.

The complete films of Xei Fei,...

The Busan International Film Festival concluded its 25th edition on Friday with the announcement of prizes across its multiple sections. The competitive New Currents section saw the top prize shared between “A Balance” from Japanese director Harumoto Yujiro and “Three,” a Kazakhstan-Korea- Uzbekistan co-venture directed by Pak Ruslan.

The festival operated a hybrid format, with most events shifted online due to the coronavirus outbreak alongside a handful of in-person screenings at the Busan Cinema Center. It reported that over its ten day run (Oct. 21-30) it had attracted 20,100 visitors to its onsite screenings. Its aggregate online visitors numbered just 30,200 for its Biff Forum, Asia Contents Awards, the Asian Film Awards, and the Master Class lecture.

“Although the total number of festival audiences remained approximately 18,000 due to 25% occupancy for each theater, it was a noteworthy number that shows the love and support of the audience for the Busan International Film Festival,...