The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2017

Odd Obsessions: Desires, Hopes and Impulses in Japanese Cinema

3 February – 9 February 2017 at ICA, London
3 February – 29 March 2017, Nationwide

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme, the largest programme focusing on Japanese cinema in the UK returns in 2017, touring to 15 cities nationwide.

Taking inspiration from Charlie Chaplin’s famous quote “Life is a desire, not a meaning”, the programme features an all-encompassing introduction to Japanese cinema through the prism of “desires, hopes and impulses”.

From the newly released work, The Mohican Comes Home (2016) by Shuichi Okita to classic example Flora on the Sand (1964) by Ko Nakahira, this year’s programme spans a myriad of genres to present the multiplicity of “wanting” in all its guises and explore a theme that is both prevalent and universal.

Also showcasing younger Japanese filmmakers’ talents as well as a popular anime and rare documentary, the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2017 promises to not only capture trends in Japanese cinema but also provide a vivid insight into what drives human action.

List of films:

Pale Moon (Kami no tsuki) Daihachi Yoshida, 2014
Destruction Babies (Destruction Babies) Tetsuya Mariko, 2016
Lady Maiko (Maiko wa redii) Masayuki Suo, 2014
Flying Colours (Birigyaru) Nobuhiro Doi, 2015
The Mohican Comes Home (Mohikan kokyo ni kaeru) Shuichi Okita, 2016
Odd Obsession (Kagi) Kon Ichikawa, 1959
A Sparkle of Life (San san) Bunji Sotoyama, 2013
A Silent Voice (Koe no katachi) Naoko Yamada, 2016
Pieta in the Toilet (Toire no Pieta) Daishi Matsunaga, 2015
Kabukicho Love Hotel (Sayonara Kabukicho) Ryuichi Hiroki, 2014
A Sparkle of Life (San san) Bunji Sotoyama, 2013
A Stitch of Life (Tsukuroi tatsu hito) Yukiko Mishima, 2015
The Mohican Comes Home (Mohikan kokyo ni kaeru) Shuichi Okita, 2016
Flora on the Sand (Suna no ue no shokubutsugun) Ko Nakahira, 1964
Tsukiji Wonderland (Tsukiji wandarando) Naotaro Endo, 2016
Someone’s Xylophone (Dareka no mokkin) Yoichi Higashi, 2016

For more information about the films, please visit: http://www.jpf-film.org.uk/



The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme is produced and organised by the Japan Foundation. Supported by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Japan Airlines, the Japan Centre, Sake Samurai and Kyoto Convention & Visitors Bureau