From 23 to 28 May 2017, the Nippon Connection Film Festival will take place for the seventeenth time in Frankfurt am Main. With over 100 short and feature-length films, it is the world's largest festival for Japanese film and offers a varied and exciting insight into Japanese cinematic art. Numerous directors and actors are also on site to present their works to the local audience for the first time. In addition to the films, a varied supporting programme offers visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in Japan's multifaceted culture. The main venues are the Künstlerhaus Mousonturm and the Theater Willy Praml in the Naxoshalle.
Documentaries in Focus
A special focus at this year's festival is on the documentary genre. Among others, Atsushi Funahashi presents his film Raise your Arms and Twist about the everyday life of Japanese pop idol singers of the group NMB48. The director cleverly combines media and social criticism without exposing the stars and their fans. Based on conversations with her grandfather, the young American filmmaker Kimi Takesue illuminates the story of her Japanese ancestors who emigrated to Hawaii in 95 and 6 to Go. Steven Okazaki's Mifune: The Last Samurai is dedicated to the life and work of legendary actor Toshiro Mifune, who made film history primarily through his collaborations with Akira Kurosawa.
Numerous German premieres
Also this year, numerous films can be seen on the German screen for the first time. For example, Nippon Honor Award winner Kiyoshi Kurosawa skillfully combines romantic drama with subtle horror in Daguerrotype. It is also the famed director's first work shot outside of Japan. Hard-hitting and uncompromising is 35-year-old film director Tetsuya Mariko's drama Destruction Babies, which won an award at last year's Locarno Film Festival. It tells the story of Taira, a teenager with no prospects who spirals deeper and deeper into violence.
With gentle humor, Ryota Nakano's award-winning drama Her Love Boils Bathwater tells the story of terminally ill Futaba, who in her final days makes it her mission to reunite her broken family. In Miwa Nishikawa's drama The Long Excuse, a lonely writer tries to put his life back together after a major blow. Director Miwa Nishikawa will be present in person at the festival. With his family drama Harmonium, director Koji Fukada shows how the appearance of an old acquaintance turns an ordinary family life upside down. Harmonium was awarded the "Jury Prize" at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival in the "Un Certain Regard" series.
As a highlight in the Nippon Animation section, Nippon Connection presents in cooperation with Kazé the German premiere of Naoko Yamada's anime A Silent Voice. Based on the manga of the same name by Yoshitoki Oima, it tells the story of Shoya Ishida, who in his school days bullied and taunted his deaf classmate Shoko Nishimiya. Years later, Shoya, wracked with remorse, sets out to find Shoko and apologize for his behavior.
Nikkatsu novel porn films in re-release
In the 1970s and 1980s, the so-called novel porn films from Japanese film studio Nikkatsu served as a field of experimentation and a springboard for young directors. On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of this genre, the Nippon Connection Film Festival is showing two new films from the "Roman Porno Reboot Project" as German premieres. Kazuya Shiraishi's Dawn of the Felines is about three young women and their work as prostitutes in Tokyo. Akihiko Shiota's Wet Woman in the Wind tells of the relationship between reclusive playwright Kosuke and nymphomaniac waitress Shiori.
Comprehensive cultural program
In addition to the films, the festival offers a variety of workshops, lectures and exhibitions that invite visitors to get to know Japanese culture. Those interested can take part in a carving workshop to help make Kyogen masks, or acquire knowledge about the vital points in the body and their application in the martial arts in the Kyusho-Jitsu workshop. In cooperation with Weltlesebühne e.V., translator Ursula Gräfe will give an insight into her everyday work. Ursula Gräfe is best known for her translations of the works of the Japanese star author Haruki Murakami.
The Nippon Kids program will again offer plenty of excitement for young viewers. As a children's film, the enchanting puppet animation film Chieri and Cherry by Makoto Nakamura will be shown with live German dubbing. At the Taiko workshop, kids can let loose with traditional Japanese drums, or try their hand at making cute sweets at the Panda Dango cooking class. Taruto Fuyama, a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts in Yokohama, will demonstrate how hand-painted animated films are made in his workshop.
The Festival
The Nippon Connection Japanese Film Festival is organized on a volunteer basis by the 70-member team of the non-profit Nippon Connection e.V. association. It is under the patronage of Peter Feldmann, Lord Mayor of the City of Frankfurt am Main, and Takeshi Kamiyama, Consul General of Japan in Frankfurt am Main. Festival centres are the Künstlerhaus Mousonturm and the Theater Willy Praml in the Naxoshalle. Other events will take place at Mal Seh'n Kino, Deutsches Filmmuseum, Ausstellungsraum Eulengasse and Theater Die Käs.
The full programme and tickets will be available on the festival website from 29 April 2017: <link http: www.nipponconnection.com _blank>www.NipponConnection.com
Source: Nippon Connection