Japanese Film Festival Australia

From tales of time travel to enchanting animated adventures and a geisha-inspired musical comedy, the Japanese Film Festival returns from 4 – 13 December with JFF Plus: Online Festival, a free streamed Festival featuring the very best in Japanese cinema.

The 2020 Festival, presented by The Japan Foundation Sydney, will screen over 25 films including features, documentaries, as well as stop motion and animated shorts for audiences across Australia and New Zealand to enjoy online.

The program showcases an array of award-winning films including Tokyo International Film Festival Audience Award winner 'Tremble All You Want', a quirky rom-com about a young woman who must choose between her childhood crush or settle for her imperfect boyfriend; Shanghai International Film Festival Best Screenplay winner 'Key of Life', an ingeniously scripted deadpan comedy that sees a struggling actor and an amnesic hit man exchange identities; and the prestigious cinema magazine Kinema Junpo’s Best Ten listed 'One Night', a torrid drama by director Kazuya Shiraishi where a family reunites fifteen years after a dramatic incident threw their lives into chaos.

Devotees of Japanese culture can look forward to favourites from JFFs gone by, such as 'Railways' (JFF 2011), a heart-warming film about a grief-stricken man who finds solace in his childhood dream of becoming a train conductor; nostalgic drama A Story of Yonosuke (JFF 2013), which interweaves two timelines to paint a rich portrait of one man’s life story from his 1987 college days to present; and 'Lady Maiko' (JFF 2014), a musical comedy that interweaves elements of Broadway and geisha culture to explore a young girl’s aspirations of becoming a maiko (apprentice geisha).

Enchanting animated adventures abound in 'Sumikkogurashi: Good to be in the Corner', which chronicles San-X’s beloved Sumikkogurashi characters as they embark on an unexpected journey into a magical pop-up book; and 'Tokyo Marble Chocolate', an anime confection in which a miniature donkey acts as a catalyst for two lovers to confront their inner emotions.

Fans of inspiring documentaries will enjoy Hong Kong International Film Festival Best Documentary Winner 'Peace', a visual essay-style observational film that offers a glimpse into the daily lives of people and cats in Okayama city; 'Tora-san in Goto', shot over 22 years, chronicling the lives of a large family of udon noodle makers in the Nagasaki Prefecture; and 'Tsukiji Wonderland', a seafood odyssey focusing on the world-famous Tsukiji fish markets in Tokyo.