EVENT: EMERGING JAPANESE FILM
DATES: September 27 - October 1, 2022
VENUE: Harmony Gold Preview House
As part of the Japan Film Overseas Expansion Enhancement Project 2022, which VIPO is entrusted with, the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan (ACA) heralds the fourth ACA Cinema Project series – Emerging Japanese Films in Hollywood. (Operated by VIPO)
The program is set to screen four newly released, dramatic, and awards-worthy Japanese feature films. In addition, the celebration promises a retrospective night that honors veteran auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda. Four of the directors will take the stage virtually for post-exhibition Q&A sessions. Corresponding content panels, featuring industry leaders, also will accompany the aforementioned new film screenings.
https://www.aca-cinema-japan.com/
https://www.vipo.or.jp/en/event/1115/
Title: MISSING
Director: Shinzo Katayama
2021/124 min./ Japan, South Korea
[STORY] Depressed and in debt following the death of his wife, Santoshi (Jiro Sato) tells his young daughter he has found a way out. Pointing to the reward note, he vows to find infamous serial killer “No Name” (Hiroya Shimizu), claiming he saw the man in the flesh a few days earlier. Kaeda (Aoi Ito) cannot believe her aloof, goofy father. But when he goes missing without a trace, she starts fearing the worst—and begins looking for him.
Ⓒ Dark Star Pictures, LLC 2022
Event Title: MISSING Director Q&A Session
Speaker: Shinzo Katayama (Director)
Moderator: Chris Gore (Writer, film critic)
Date: September 27, 2022
Title: BL METAMORPHOSIS
Director: Shunsuke Kariyama
2022/118 min./ Japan
[STORY] Urara Sayama is a normie and boyfriend-less 17-year-old high school student. Her only enjoyment is reading boy's love (BL) manga in secret. She also works part-time as a bookstore cashier. At work, Urara meets 75-year-old widow Yuki Ichinoi. For no other reason than its attractive cover, impulsive Yuki buys a BL manga during one of Urara’s afternoon shifts. Following the fateful purchase, Yuki is a full-fledged BL manga fan. Due to their common interest, Urara and Yuki develop a friendship and eventually take on a literary challenge.
©2022 BL METAMORPHOSIS Film Partners
Event Title: Q&A
Speaker: Shunsuke Kariyama (Director)
Moderator: Marlene Sharp (Moderator and producer/journalist)
Date: September 28, 2022
Event Title: PANEL: FULL FRONTAL FANDOM: FASCINATING DEPICTIONS OF ORIGINAL MANGA FANS IN BL METAMORPHOSIS
Speaker: Jeffrey Reddick (screenwriter), Vincent Imaoka(producer), Geneva Wasserman(producer), Kevin Nicklaus(producer), Geoffrey Calhoun(screenwriter/podcaster/author)
Moderator: Marlene Sharp (Moderator and producer/journalist)
Date: September 28, 2022
Title: RIVERSIDE MUKOLITTA
Director: Naoko Ogigami
2021/120 min./ Japan
[STORY] Brooding Takeshi Yamada arrives in a small village in the Hokuriku region. There, he begins to work at a small factory which makes shiokara (salted fish paste). Through the efforts of his boss, Takeshi moves into a nearby, dilapidated apartment. One afternoon, Takeshi’s vociferously eccentric neighbor Kozo Shimada barges into Takesh’s unit and demands a bath in Takeshi’s personal lavatory. With the metaphorical ice broken, Takeshi eventually emerges from his shell and warms to a friendship with Kozo and the other residents. Later, Kozo learns the secret behind Takeshi’s relocation to this particular village. Takeshi’s new friends organize an out-of-the-box resolution to Takeshi’s ongoing angst.
Ⓒ2021 ”Riverside Mukolitta” Film Partners
Event Title: Panel discussion: How Asian Drama Is Relatable to American Audiences
Speaker: Alan Ng (moderator, journalist), Kevin Iwashina (JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI/Endeavor Content executive), Larry Namer (founder, Metan Global Media Group and E! Entertainment TV), Jennie Lew Tugend (LETHAL WEAPON, FREE WILLY), Jinko Gotoh (KLAUS, FINDING NEMO), Chuck Williams (SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, BROTHER BEAR)
Date: September 30, 2022
Title: SMALL, SLOW BUT STEADY
Director: Shô Miyake
2022/99 min./ Japan
[STORY] Keiko, a young pro boxer, was born with a hearing impairment. Boxing is a real challenge for her, but the club she belongs to is like a second home. After winning two difficult fights, a creeping fear begins to grow inside her. The club chairman, the only person who had accepted her as a boxer, is plagued by health issues and is losing his eyesight. Having learned that the gym is about to close for good, a confused Keiko goes on to her third bout. But perhaps the biggest challenge she faces is trying to understand the true nature and strength of her will to fight.
©2022 « KEIKO ME WO SUMASETE » Production Committee & COMME DES CINEMAS
Event Title: SMALL, SLOW BUT STEADY: Director Session
Speaker: Shô Miyake(Director)
Moderator: Alan Ng
Date: October 1, 2022
Event Title: Panel Discussion: Beyond Boundaries: Taking on Challenging Acting Roles
Speaker: Shô Miyake(Director), Valerie McCaffrey (casting director/talent manager)
Moderator: Leslie LaPage (director, LA Femme International Film Festival)
Date: October 1, 2022
Title: LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
2013/120 min./ Japan
[STORY] Ryota is a successful workaholic businessman. When he learns that his biological son was switched at birth with another boy, Ryota faces the difficult decision to choose his true son or the boy he and his wife have raised as their own.
© 2013FUJI TELEVISION NETWORK.INC, AMUSE INC, GAGA CORPORATION ALL RIGHT RESERVED.
Event Title：Q&A
Speaker：Hirokazu Kore-eda (Director), Bethan Jones (Interpreter)
Moderator: Alan Ng (Editor-in-Chief of Film Threat, Critics Choice Association member)
Date: September 29, 2022