Japanese Film Festival
Image: Mumon The Land of Stealth
Heading to Sydney between November 16th to 26th is the Japanese Film Festival as part of a national tour. Mumon: The Land of Stealth will open the festival in true Japanese style with an action-packed comedy. The film stars a ninja with unmatched strength as he accidently creates a war between the samurais and ninjas. Directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura, audiences are expected to be on the edge of their seats.
Some of the genre’s that will be showcased at the festival are anime, comedy, docudrama, and crime mysteries. Margarett Cortez, program coordinator for the event has given some insight into the festival.
“This year Japanese cinema has been off to a good start, we are also trying some new stuff this year, we are doing a short film feature for the first time. The theme for this year is to showcase a new generation of Japanese cinema so it was very fitting to feature short films from Japan as well as Japanese film makers in Australia.”
With some amazing films in the line-up, Margarett’s top two picks are, “In terms of mainstream pop culture Japanese viewing a must see is, Teiichi – Battle of Supreme High, it’s a J-Pop manga favourite in the making I think, it’s a very clever satire. For those who are after more house titles, the top of my list is Snow Women, directed by Kiki Sugino who is a superwoman.”
Traces of Sin
An investigative journalist is going through a hard time while his sister is in custody awaiting a trail and his infant niece is in hospital in critical condition. To keep busy, he re-examines an old case. As he investigates further he soon learns of the vicious social circles associated and the true nature of the crime.
★★★
My Uncle
Yukio is a primary school student tasked with writing an assignment about a family member. Upon choosing his uncle, a typical philosophy lecturer. The two soon embark on a hilarious journey taking in some Japanese American history and getting up to no good to find the uncles love, Eri.
★★★
By Riley Hooper.
