2014 Japanese Film Festival Announces Additional Films For Sydney And Melbourne

Just like in previous years, the 2014 Japanese Film Festival will be featuring an extended program for Sydney (13 - 23 November) and Melbourne (27 November - 7 December). There will be a total of over 50 titles to choose from this year.

The Closing Film for Sydney and Melbourne has been announced to be The Vancouver Asahi from director Yuya Ishii (The Great Passage - 2013 JFF Opening Film). The film tells the underdog story of a Japanese-Canadian baseball team in the pre-WWII era.

Highlights from the additional films include:

-        Drama: The Light Shines Only There (Japan’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars), My Man (winner of Best Film at Moscow International Film Festival), Tokyo Refugees and the animated Buddha 2

-        Fun and Adventure: Two films from Sion Sono - Why Don’t You Play In Hell? and Tokyo Tribe, live action Lupin The Third

-        Mystery and Horror: The Snow White Murder Case from director Yashihiro Nakamura (Fish Story, Golden Slumber – JFF 2010, A Boy And His Samurai – JFF 2011), Ju-On The Beginning Of The End

-        Classics on 35mm prints (free screenings): Hiroshi Teshigahara’s Woman in the Dunes (Oscar nominee for Best Director and Best Foreign Film) and films from Mikio Naruse, Kon Ichikawa and Kenji Mizoguchi. The JFF Classics will be presented from 15 – 19 and 22 – 26 October in Sydney ahead of its main program and as part of the main program in Melbourne.

Tickets can be purchased from the Festival’s website or the participating venues’ box office. Early bird tickets will be going on sale from 1 October till 14 October in Sydney, and 15 October till 28 October in Melbourne.