The 13th Japanese Film Festival

The 13th Japanese Film Festival is coming soon! It will be showing 21 selected Japanese films in Sydney from Nov.14 - Dec.1, consisting of some different genres such as drama, comedy, action, and anime as well. This year the festival will kick off in Hobart too, this is the only time for Japanese film mania in 6 Australia capital cities (Perth, Brisbane, Hobart, Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne) to watch Japanese movies on the cinema. For more information about the movie list, schedule and ticketing in each cities please visit the official website: Japanese Film Festival.

Last year was the biggest and most successful year audience attendance reaching just a record number of just over 10,000 Australia wide. I still remember how excited and happy I was when I won the lucky draw and got a show bag from Nagano City Tourism. Why Nagano? because the movie I watched was promoting Nagano City Tourism, the shooting location was in Hakuba with the magnificent view of snowy mountains. The adorable Rena Tanaka and the stunning beauty of white mountains are just perfect. The English title is Season of Snow and the Japanese title is G-season or Giniro no season, I really love this movie and even bought the DVD for my collection :) If you'd like to view the trailer you can click the banner below:

Here are some snippet for this year Japanese Film Festival:

The Blue bird, a film tackling the age-old problem of school bullying in Japan sees Mr Murauchi, a stuttering substitute teacher, enter in the aftermath of student Noguchi's suicide attempt. The school is trying to forget about the incident but Mr Murauchi persists in using his unconventional teaching method with an important lesson for all.

A masked villain known as K20 terrorizes the streets with his crafty burglary when an innocent acrobat is mistaken for K20 and is arrested, he must find the real masked murderer to clear his name. This movie is quite popular with the star Takeshi Kaneshiro as the heroine.

It seems like dining is on the agenda at Dome Fuji Station, a Japanese research base in the South Pole. Based on a true story, Chef Nishimura delivers mouth-watering extravagant dishes for the team of eight. This is one of scrumptious film filled with food, ice and laughter.

Members of the Kyoto University Azure Dragons are prepared to battle it out in the ancient game of 'Harumo'. Team members summon an army of CGI-related demons in a supernatural combat match to attack opposing teams from another universities.

A period drama set in the late of Edo era, Noe, a widow married into a new family is miserable and unable to adjust to her new life. In the midst of a drought with the added burden of heavy taxes, the farmers are struggling to make ends meet. Yachiro, a samurai in love with Noe, decides to take action, setting in motion some changes in the despondent life of Noe.

A haunting, intriguing mystery about a family's hidden secret that begins to unravel when a serial arsonist leaves behind a graffiti-style clues at crime scenes. Brothers Izumi and Haru are drawn to the events and decide to investigate the matter. Unknowingly, each step brings them closer to unlocking an unexpected truth.

On the run, Kamui is a ninja in search of freedom. His journey leads him to an old fisherman's village where he gradually learns to love. But there are others pursuing him - ninja of his own clan, pirates, shark hunter and a captain of manipulation hatching a plan with Kamui as the prey..

(Source: Japanese Film Festival)