The annual Japanese Film Festival kicked off at Cinestars Hai Ba Trung, downtown Ho Chi Minh City on November 2, with 11 Japanese films released over the last three years to be screened to November 17.
The 2017 drama film Close-Knit, directed and written by Naoko Ogigami, will open the Japanese Film Festival in HCM City. (Photo: jffsf.org)
HCM City (VNA) – The annual Japanese Film Festival kickedoff at Cinestars Hai Ba Trung, downtown Ho Chi Minh City on November 2, with 11Japanese films released over the last three years to be screened to November 17.
The films, shown in both Vietnamese and English subtitles, featurevarious genres, including drama, comedy, fantasy, mystery, documentary andanimation.
The festival was opened with the 2017drama film “Close-Knit”, directed andwritten by Naoko Ogigami, who won the Manfred Salzgeber Award for “broadeningthe boundaries of cinema today” at the Berlin International Film Festival in2008.
“Close-Knit” is about a fifth-grade girl whosemother has given her up. She has to live with her uncle and his girlfriend, atransgender woman with a heart of gold.
The film was screened as part of thePanorama section at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2017.
The eventwill include the screening of director Norihiro Koizumi’s “Chihayafuru”,which is based on the famous manga series with the same name by Yuki Suetsugu.
The film, whose two sequels will also be shown,honours karuta, a traditional Japanese card game. The films also featurehow young Japanese are preserving the game.
The festival will also screen dramas such asKenji Shibayama’s “Perfect World”, Wui Shin Chong’s “Yakiniku Dragon” andJunichi Ishikawa’s “Mixed Double”, along with horror films DaihachiYoshida’s “The Scythian Lambs”.
The animation film “Mary and the Witch’sFlower” by Hiromasa Yonebayashi will be shown as well.
The festival,organised by the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam, willalso be launched in Da Nang on November 16, Hue City on November 17 and Hanoion November 30.
In Hue, movie loverswill have a chance to enjoy not only the full collection of the eleven filmsbut also five extra others, namely “Re-life” by Takeshi Furasawa, “Tora san ofGoto Island” by Masaru Oura, “Rudolf the Black Cat” by Motonori Sakakibara andKunihiko Yuyama, “Creepy” by Kiyoshi Kurosawa and “Her Love Boils Bathwater” byRyota Nakano.
Moreinformation about the film schedule can be seen at //vn.japanesefilmfest.org/. –VNA
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The 2017 drama film Close-Knit, directed and written by Naoko Ogigami, will open the Japanese Film Festival in HCM City. (Photo: jffsf.org)
