The long-running Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme (JFTFP24) returns with its biggest showcase ever for 2024. Taking in 30 cities between February and March, the line-up of movies has something for everyone.  

The programme’s theme is Unforgettable: Memories, Times and Reflections in Japanese Cinema, and promises to delve into Japanese cinema to explore how memories are employed in the cinematic voices of Japanese filmmakers, from films where memories are a focal point to works where they play a subliminal role in driving or affecting people’s minds and behaviour. With an incredibly diverse range of films based on memories, time, and reflections, this year’s programme will provide UK audiences with memorable stories and unforgettable moments.

Under this theme, the packed programme will showcase highlights, including the UK premiere of Shadow of Fire, the latest work from festival favourite Tsukamoto Shinya (Tetsuo: The Iron Man), a new entry in the Roman Porno genre, Hand, directed by Daigo Matsui commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Nikkatsu’s controversial line of erotic cinema, and the visually stunning anime Lonely Castle in the Mirror. A retrospective classic from the Golden Age of Japanese cinema, Kinoshita Keisuke’s The Snow Flurry, and an incredible selection of new titles tackling contemporary Japanese social issues through heartfelt drama, tense thrills, inventive sci-fi and quirky comedy. Special guest directors will also be present to introduce their films, including director Maeda Tetsu with his topical care home mystery Do Unto Others and director Chihara Tetsuya with vibrant and visually engaging generational women’s stories in Ice Cream Fever.

Recalling the recent time-travel success story Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, Takebayashi Ryo’s Mondays: See You ‘This’ Week! finds the staff of a small but demanding advertising agency realise they’re stuck in a time-loop of the same monotonous week. Only the oblivious department head is unaware… and he holds the key to their freedom in this smart and comic satire of office life. Time travel is also the basis of From the End of the World, the latest CGI extravaganza from Kiriya Kazuaki, the director behind such special effects epics as Last Knights and Casshern. The film finds depressed and lonely high school girl Hana engulfed in despair until one day when she’s approached by a special agent telling her she can save the world, leading to an adventure from ancient Japan’s Sengoku-era (late fifteenth- to sixteenth-century) to the ends of the earth. From the co-writer of J-horror masterpiece Ring and acclaimed director in his own right, Nakamura Yoshihiro (A Boy and His Samurai) returns to the horror genre with The Inerasable. Taking as its inspiration the idea of Japan’s ‘stigmatised property’, rooms or buildings where a traumatic incident such as suicide or murder has taken place, the film follows a novelist specialising in ghost stories (Takeuchi Yuko, Ring) who receives a letter from a young student (Hashimoto Ai, Confessions) explaining that she often hears strange noises in her room. Together, the two of them investigate the horrifying truth behind the room and its past inhabitants in this highly praised horror mystery.

Director Ishikawa Kei’s thoughtful false-identity drama A Man stars popular actor Ando Sakura, acclaimed for roles in Shoplifters and 100 Yen Love, as well as starring in the recent hit Godzilla Minus One. Here, she plays a bereaved woman who discovers her husband is not who he claims to be, and the subsequent investigation to reveal his true identity. Based on a best-selling novel, this acclaimed film festival hit poignantly explores many of the social issues faced in Japan today. Another title which tackles the pressing issues facing modern Japan via a shocking mystery is director Maeda Tetsu’s Do Unto Others. When the dead bodies of an elderly man and his care centre’s director are found early one morning, Munenori, a dedicated caregiver responsible for the elderly man’s care, becomes the prime suspect… and it’s soon discovered that over forty deaths have occurred since he began working at the centre. This gripping mystery examines the problems associated with an ageing society and the breakdown of the care system. The Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 shook the country to its core, and the effects are still being felt today, some of which are explored in heartfelt drama Voices in the Wind (Dir. Suwa Nobuhiro). Set eight years after the disaster, emotionally scarred Haru (Motola Serena) silently embarks on a 1,300 km solo hitchhiking journey to her hometown of Otsuchi, where her family died. Guided by an unseen force, will the journey help heal her pain? Expertly directed by Suwa Nobuhiro, who helmed a segment in the 2006 anthology film Paris je t’aime alongside a host of top international directors, Voices in the Wind premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. Based on real events, Winny (Dir. Matsumoto Yusaku) is the powerful retelling of the story behind the peer-to-peer file-sharing program. The revolutionary software of choice for online piracy in Japan in 2002, Winny would see its genius programmer Kaneko Isamu arrested, tried, and ultimately found guilty of enabling copyright violations, with this film offering a fascinating account of the legal battle in a story, which has continued relevance today. Celebrated with a retrospective at the 2023 Tokyo International Film Festival but still little known outside of Japan, prolific director Jojo Hideo’s latest Twilight Cinema Blues focuses on the crises facing independent cinemas, particularly in a post-pandemic world. This delightful tragicomedy follows a penniless young man who takes up a job in a small cinema on the verge of closure and begins to confront and reconcile his past through interactions with the ragtag bunch of customers and staff. Premiering at San Sebastian Film Festival, The Zen Diary is based on an essay about food and cooking by leading Japanese author Mizukami Tsutomu and offers a charming meditation on zen cuisine and seasonal scenery. The film finds writer Tsutomu (Sawada Kenji, The Happiness of the Katakuris) living in a secluded mountain cabin, who, unable to confront the loss of his wife, has instead devoted himself to farming and cooking, skills he learned as a young monk. But a series of incidents soon awakens new emotions inside him. Offering audiences a glimpse into the joys of a slow, simple life seen through the lenses of bonds, memory, and love and filled with cooking scenes, The Zen Diary is a delight.

This year’s film programme highlights contemporary women’s stories across several features, with sharply observed human drama Thousand and One Nights portraying the contrasting lives of two women left behind by their husbands’ disappearances, told through powerful performances by leading actresses Tanaka Yuko and Ono Machiko. Based on Toyoda Tetsuya’s hugely popular manga of the same name and also concerning a disappearing husband, Undercurrent finds widower Kanae struggling to manage a bathhouse after her husband’s disappearance. Hiring an eccentric private detective (played by Like Father, Like Son’s Lily Franky) to locate the missing spouse, Kanae soon reveals hidden truths about herself. From Ogigami Naoko (Rent-a-Cat), one of Japan’s most prolific female directors, Ripples looks at social issues from the burden of caregiving on women to ableism. In the film, Yoriko, who cares for a bedridden father-in-law, fills the void left by a departed husband and son by devoting herself to a new religious cult, but the peace she regains is disrupted by the return of her estranged family members, driving her to breaking point. YOKO is the story of a 42-year-old recluse living in Tokyo. Having held a grudge against her father for 20 years, one day she is notified of his passing. Reluctantly, she embarks on a journey to Hirosaki to attend his funeral but is accidentally stranded along the way. The film features a lead performance from international star Kikuchi Rinko (Babel, Pacific Rim) and has an ending theme from renowned Drive My Car composer Ishibashi Eiko and Jim O’Rourke. The Lump in My Heart depicts the bonds of a mother-daughter relationship. Working on an assignment about her first love, teenager Chinatsu recalls the bittersweet memories of her childhood crush while her single mother Akiko (Tokiwa Takako, Hanagatami) grows worried after discovering her daughter is to be retested for breast cancer. In Ice Cream Feverfour women from different generations have their lives intertwined at an ice cream shop in Tokyo. The mysterious customer Saho captivates the shop assistant, Natsumi, while Yu takes in her estranged niece, who’s searching for her missing father. This stylish directorial debut from a former advertising and fashion art director is packed with visually engaging shots and vibrant colour.

On a lighter note, those looking for quirky comedy and heart-warming coming-of-age tales are well served with a selection of titles, including a trip into authentic 1980s Japanese culture in Kanazawa Tomoki’s directorial debut Sabakan. This bittersweet, nostalgic tale set during the summer of 1986 sees a young boy and his friend embark on an adventure to a nearby island, unaware that their childhood innocence is soon to be shattered. From director Okita Shuichi (A Story of Yonosuke, The Woodsman and the Rain), The Fish Tale is a similarly heartfelt coming-of-age tale which follows young Meebo (Non, In This Corner of the World), whose eccentric yet endearing passion for fish quite often leaves him out of touch with society. This humorously quirky story is based on the autobiography of Sakana-kun, a Japanese TV personality well known for his extensive knowledge of fish! Hit Me Anyone One More Time!is a comic satire from Japan’s leading comedy director Mitani Koki and tells the story of the widely-despised fictional Prime Minister of Japan, Kuroda Keisuke (Nakai Kiichi, 47 Ronin) who, after waking up in a hospital, is unable to recall any details of his life thus far. Now filled with a desire to do good, can he balance the conspiracy and corruption of politics with his newfound sense of morality? A moving comedy which shines a light on a group of people who live on the fringes of society, Hoarder On The Border is presented in an omnibus-style format featuring multiple interconnected narratives revolving around Ritsuki, a man who takes on a new path with a specialised cleaning crew for ‘hoarder’ houses confronting not only cluttered spaces but also clients with diverse challenges and exploring the complexities in their lives.

Based on an autobiographical novel of the same name by popular columnist Takayama Makoto and directed by Matsunaga Daishi (Pieta in the Toilet), Egoist is a touching and delicate LGBTQ+ drama about Kosuke who, after spending his adolescence in a rural village suppressing his feelings as a gay man, is now a confidant fashion editor living in Tokyo who falls for his young and attractive personal trainer, Ryuta. While Kosuke believes their love will endure, an unexpected twist of fate threatens their relationship when Ryuta fails to show up for a trip.

A retrospective title from one of Japan’s greatest filmmakers, Kinoshita Keisuke (The Ballad of Narayama, Twenty-Four Eyes), The Snow Flurry follows Haruko (Kishi Keiko, Early Spring) attempts a double suicide with a son of the respectable Nagura family. Having survived and become an outcast, she has to raise their son, Suteo (Kawazu Yusuke, Cruel Story of Youth), alone. Grown-up Suteo develops feelings for his cousin (Kuga Yoshiko, Good Morning) from the Nagura family, but his forbidden love echoes his mother’s tragic past… This deeply moving melodrama skilfully critiques family traditions and societal barriers in a post-war village with its non-linear storytelling.

Touring Programme Cities, Venues & Dates

London – Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), February 2nd – 11th

Aberystwyth – Aberystwyth Arts Centre, February 3rd – 29th

Belfast – Queen’s Film Theatre, February 3rd – March 30th

Birmingham – Midlands Arts Centre, March 22nd – 28th

Bristol – Watershed, February 3rd – 28th

Cambridge – Howard Theatre, Downing College, February 3rd – March 24th(TBC)

Cardiff – CHAPTER, February 16th – March 21st

Chester – Storyhouse, March 13th – 30th

Chichester – Cinema at New Park, Chichester, February 3rd –March 11th

Colchester – Firstsite, February 3rd – March 30th

Coventry – Warwick Arts Centre, February 2nd – March 14th

Derby – QUAD, February 9th – March 17th

Dundee – Dundee Contemporary Arts, February 17th – March 16th

Exeter – Exeter Phoenix, March 1st – 27th

Edinburgh – Cameo Picturehouse, February 21st – March 27th

Inverness – Eden Court, February 12th – March 18th

Kendal – Brewery Arts Cinema, February 3rd – March 23rd

Lancaster – The Dukes, February 18th – March 12th

Leicester – Phoenix, March 2rd – 30th

Lewes – Depot, March 3rd – 14th

Liverpool – Picturehouse @ FACT, March 7th – 28th

Manchester – HOME, February 12th – March 6th

Newcastle – Tyneside Cinema, March 11th – 31st

Norwich – Cinema City Picturehouse, March 4th – 25th

Nottingham – Broadway, March 15th – 20th

Orkney – The Phoenix Cinema, February 28th – March 14th

Oxford – The Ultimate Picture Palace, March 6th – 27th

Plymouth – Plymouth Arts Cinema, March 1st – 28th

Sheffield – Showroom Cinema, February 4th – 27th

York – City Screen Picturehouse, February 29th – March 28th

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2024 will take place in cinemas around the UK from February 2nd to March 31st, 2024. For further information: https://www.jpf-film.org.uk/

The fifth edition of the Black Sunday Film Festival takes place at Everyman Chelmsford in January and the line-up of films has been announced.

Following the Black Sunday Mixer (hosted by The Independent Horror Society) at Voodoo Keller on Thursday, January 25th, the screaming screenings start on Friday the 26th, at the lush Everyman venue with Lovely, Dark and Deep, Teresa Sutherland’s recent Fantasia hit.

Saturday sees Justin MacGregor’s The Founder Effect and Baatar Barsukh’s Aberrance both receive their UK premieres. Then there’s the Essex premieres of James Morris’ He Never Left, Gabriel Bienczycki and Richard Karpala’s Falling Stars, and Mary Dauterman’s Booger.

There are more Essex premieres on Sunday with Stewart Sparke’s brilliant How to Kill Monsters, Ryan Ward’s Daughter of the Sun, and Raymond Wood’s Faceless After Dark. The European premiere of Mitchell Tolliday’s anthology Murder Ballads: How to Make it in Rock n’ Roll is unmissable. The evening – and the festival – are rounded off with a Cult Classic Secret Screening presented by Arrow Video.

As well as the features, there are a selection of no fewer than 16 shorts. These are: Argh! (Toryn Westcott), Black as Before (Craig Tonks), Death Date (Alex Mathieson), The Girl with the Haunted Vagina (Samantha O’Rourke), Knock Knock (Knock) (Brendan Cleaves), The Lure (Tony Hipwell), The Midnight Sleepover Club (Jack Parr), Toast (Thomas Longstaff), #BossBabe (Kassy Gascho), Old Timers (Brian Quintero), Trap Door in the Sun (Jenna Kanell), NZU (Conscian Morgan), Terra’s Waltz (Logan Dunn), Amy & I (Bastiaan Rook), Do Not Close Anything (Antonin Domage), and Scomparire (Daniele Nicolosi). There will also be a selection of shorts made by film production students from Chelmsford College.

Black Sunday Film Festival takes place between January 26th and 28th at Everyman, Chelmsford. Tickets will be available from January 4th.

For more information, head over to http://www.blacksundayff.com.