75 films from 12 countries, 228 guests of honour and 65 thousand spectators. These are all the numbers of Udine Far East Film Festival 2024. There was an increase of accredited visitors (of 24% over 2023) and the screenings at Udine's 1,200-seat Teatro Nuovo venue were always full, from 9 in the morning to midnight. This says a lot about the growing interest in Asian Cinema.
China and South Korea were the protagonists of the opening Night of Wednesday the 24th of April, with two international premieres: Yolo and Citizen of a Kind, followed by some more South Korean box office sensations, The Roundup: Punishment, 12.12: The Day and horror movie Exhuma. Some very welcome returns of festival friends were Jun Lana, with LGBT comedy of errors Becky & Badette, Norris Wong with the musical The Lyricist Wanna Be, Nick Cheung, in the director's chair, with Peg O'My Heart and Herman Yau with three actioners: Moscow Mission, Raid of...
China and South Korea were the protagonists of the opening Night of Wednesday the 24th of April, with two international premieres: Yolo and Citizen of a Kind, followed by some more South Korean box office sensations, The Roundup: Punishment, 12.12: The Day and horror movie Exhuma. Some very welcome returns of festival friends were Jun Lana, with LGBT comedy of errors Becky & Badette, Norris Wong with the musical The Lyricist Wanna Be, Nick Cheung, in the director's chair, with Peg O'My Heart and Herman Yau with three actioners: Moscow Mission, Raid of...
- 5/6/2024
- by AMP Group
- AsianMoviePulse
A real viral travelogue blog by Jimmy Lai is the inspiration behind “18×2 Beyond Youthful Days”, a Japan-Taiwan co-production, directed and co-written by Michihito Fujii of “The Journalist” fame.
18×2 Beyond Youthful Days is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival
36-year-old Jimmy (Hsu Kuang-han) is back at home in Tainan, after leaving it 18 years prior. He is going through a difficult and delicate stage of his life, having been excluded by the successful game developing company he founded and developed. It is certainly time for a break and a reassessment of life priorities and Jimmy starts from his ancestral home, where it all started. Rummaging into his bits and pieces in his teenager bedroom, he finds a postcard from an old crush, a Japanese traveler called Ami he had met the summer before starting University. Remembering how she liked travelling and how important it was for her; Jimmy decides...
18×2 Beyond Youthful Days is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival
36-year-old Jimmy (Hsu Kuang-han) is back at home in Tainan, after leaving it 18 years prior. He is going through a difficult and delicate stage of his life, having been excluded by the successful game developing company he founded and developed. It is certainly time for a break and a reassessment of life priorities and Jimmy starts from his ancestral home, where it all started. Rummaging into his bits and pieces in his teenager bedroom, he finds a postcard from an old crush, a Japanese traveler called Ami he had met the summer before starting University. Remembering how she liked travelling and how important it was for her; Jimmy decides...
- 4/30/2024
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
The Far East Film Festival (Feff) in Italy’s Udine has unveiled the full line-up for its 26th edition, which will honour Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou with an honorary award and world premiere restored versions of his Raise The Red Lantern and To Live.
Running April 24 to May 2, the festival will open with a double bill: Chinese box office hit Yolo and South Korean action-comedy Citizen Of A Kind.
Yolo dominated this year’s Lunar New Year releases, grossing $484m in China, and is directed by Jia Ling, who stars as an unemployed woman in her 30s whose life is...
Running April 24 to May 2, the festival will open with a double bill: Chinese box office hit Yolo and South Korean action-comedy Citizen Of A Kind.
Yolo dominated this year’s Lunar New Year releases, grossing $484m in China, and is directed by Jia Ling, who stars as an unemployed woman in her 30s whose life is...
- 3/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
Michihito Fujii has been working like a factory lately for Netflix, with the majority of his latest works featuring in the streaming service, including “Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045”, and the more recent “Hard Days” and “Village” among others. His latest work, however, signals a change to a “tamer” narrative, as “The Parades” is a drama about the afterlife, inspired by the Fukushima disaster.
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Minako, a TV reporter and single mother, finds herself roaming the area she lived in after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, in search of her lost boy. Soon she realizes though, that she is dead and that the living cannot see or hear her. While getting totally lost about her new reality, she is discovered by Akira, a writer who is in the same situation, who takes her under his wing and introduces her to his...
Click the image below to follow our Tribute to Netflix
Minako, a TV reporter and single mother, finds herself roaming the area she lived in after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, in search of her lost boy. Soon she realizes though, that she is dead and that the living cannot see or hear her. While getting totally lost about her new reality, she is discovered by Akira, a writer who is in the same situation, who takes her under his wing and introduces her to his...
- 3/20/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
This year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival will open with the Asian premiere of All Shall Be Well, directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Ray Yeung, which recently won the Teddy Award at Berlin film festival.
Starring Patra Au and Maggie Li, the film tells the story of an older lesbian couple and how the surviving partner struggles to retain her home and her dignity when one of them passes away. The film premiered in the Panorama section at the Berlinale.
Japanese filmmaker Miyake Sho’s All The Long Nights, starring Matsumura Hokuto and Kamishiraishi Mone, which premiered in the Forum section of Berlin, will close the festival on April 8.
Gala screenings also include the world premiere of Hong Kong filmmaker Ho Miu-ki’s Love Lies, starring Sandra Ng, Cheung Tin-fu and Stephy Tang; Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s Gift, a collaboration with composer Eiko Ishibashi, which will be...
Starring Patra Au and Maggie Li, the film tells the story of an older lesbian couple and how the surviving partner struggles to retain her home and her dignity when one of them passes away. The film premiered in the Panorama section at the Berlinale.
Japanese filmmaker Miyake Sho’s All The Long Nights, starring Matsumura Hokuto and Kamishiraishi Mone, which premiered in the Forum section of Berlin, will close the festival on April 8.
Gala screenings also include the world premiere of Hong Kong filmmaker Ho Miu-ki’s Love Lies, starring Sandra Ng, Cheung Tin-fu and Stephy Tang; Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s Gift, a collaboration with composer Eiko Ishibashi, which will be...
- 3/8/2024
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
The Parades is a movie written and directed by Michihito Fujii starring Masami Nagasawa, Kentaro Sakaguchi, Ryusei Yokohama, and Nana Mori.
From Japan comes “The Parades”, a lovely film that, we warn you, goes straight to the heart and speaks from the deepest human emotion and the most profound concern of human beings: death.
A film that starts precisely from there, and gradually contrasts it with life, creating a whole ode to life itself in death.
A film, as you may have imagined, full of sentiment and nostalgia, but also of life and hope.
Synopsis:
After an earthquake, a woman feels confused and disoriented as she tries in vain to find her son. A stranger takes her to a camp where he tells her the truth: she is dead, and she still has unfinished business to take care of before she can move on to the other side.
About the film:
This Thursday,...
From Japan comes “The Parades”, a lovely film that, we warn you, goes straight to the heart and speaks from the deepest human emotion and the most profound concern of human beings: death.
A film that starts precisely from there, and gradually contrasts it with life, creating a whole ode to life itself in death.
A film, as you may have imagined, full of sentiment and nostalgia, but also of life and hope.
Synopsis:
After an earthquake, a woman feels confused and disoriented as she tries in vain to find her son. A stranger takes her to a camp where he tells her the truth: she is dead, and she still has unfinished business to take care of before she can move on to the other side.
About the film:
This Thursday,...
- 2/29/2024
- by Molly Se-kyung
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
Romantic drama 18x2 Beyond Youthful Days by acclaimed Japanese director Michihito Fujii has been sold to a raft of Asian distributors by sales firm Happinet Phantom Studios.
The upcoming feature has been acquired for South Korea (Media Castle), Hong Kong (Golden Scene) and Southeast Asia territories (Purple Plan) as well as for in-flight (Emphasis Video).
The romance is set for release in Taiwan on March 14 through Activator Marketing Company and in Japan on May 3 through Happinet, which will also be speaking to buyers about the feature at the European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin this month.
The cast is led by Hsu Kuang-han,...
The upcoming feature has been acquired for South Korea (Media Castle), Hong Kong (Golden Scene) and Southeast Asia territories (Purple Plan) as well as for in-flight (Emphasis Video).
The romance is set for release in Taiwan on March 14 through Activator Marketing Company and in Japan on May 3 through Happinet, which will also be speaking to buyers about the feature at the European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin this month.
The cast is led by Hsu Kuang-han,...
- 2/14/2024
- ScreenDaily
Netflix has revealed that its Japanese slate for the year ahead includes three films and a seven new and returning series.
The features include Drawing Closer by Takahiro Miki, a director well-known for romantic dramas such as Love Me, Love Me Not and Your Eyes Tell. It follows a young man with a terminal illness who falls for a woman who is also living on borrowed time. The cast is led by Ren Nagase and Natsuki Deguchi.
It is based on a best-selling novel by Ao Morita and is scripted by Tomoko Yoshida, whose collaborations with Miki go back to...
The features include Drawing Closer by Takahiro Miki, a director well-known for romantic dramas such as Love Me, Love Me Not and Your Eyes Tell. It follows a young man with a terminal illness who falls for a woman who is also living on borrowed time. The cast is led by Ren Nagase and Natsuki Deguchi.
It is based on a best-selling novel by Ao Morita and is scripted by Tomoko Yoshida, whose collaborations with Miki go back to...
- 2/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
Back in 2013, when the surge of Korean crime/action thrillers, which eventually brought the local industry to the top of the world, was at its peak, Kim Seung-hun managed to come up with “A Hard Day”, a movie that entailed the majority of the elements that made films of the category a success, but also including a very appealing comic aspect, mostly instigated by an impressive performance by Lee Sun-kyun. Ten years later, Michihito Fujii, who has been working like crazy for Netflix recently, coming up with three films just in 2023, presents a Japanese remake of the original, which also doubles as a Christmas movie, in a way.
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On the night of December 29th, Detective Yuji Kudo is driving his car towards the hospital, where his mother is hospitalized with a serious condition. He is a bit drunk, and a...
Click the image below to follow our Tribute to Netflix
On the night of December 29th, Detective Yuji Kudo is driving his car towards the hospital, where his mother is hospitalized with a serious condition. He is a bit drunk, and a...
- 12/16/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
It’s slick, it’s chaotic, it’s entertaining, and it’s dark, which is why the new Japanese crime thriller Hard Days by Michihito Fujii intrigues from the very first frame. One gets a sense from the get-go that we have entered into a world that is full of sinister plots. There is something about those movies that start with a car being driven at night that somehow sets my mind racing with all these adjectives. Goodfellas comes to mind with that sort of dynamic opening, and well, Hard Days is not as good as the Scorsese film; but it has a language of its own. But the first frame itself promises what kind of movie it’s going to be. If there were doubts, then the movie quells all of them in the next five minutes when drunk Detective Yuji Kudo runs somebody over and tries to cover up the crime.
- 12/1/2023
- by Ayush Awasthi
- Film Fugitives
Horror comedy is directed by Nam Dong-hyub.
Korean sales company Contents Panda is to launch sales on horror comedy Handsome Guys at the Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm) in Busan.
The film stars Lee Sung-min and Lee Hee-jun, who both starred in Woo Min-ho’s The Man Standing Next – South Korea’s entry to the Oscars in 2021. Lee Sung-min is also known for his role in Yoon Jong-bin’s Cannes 2018 title The Spy Gone North. The cast also includes Gong Seung-yeon (Aloners).
A first look at the feature can be seen above.
It marks the feature directorial debut of Korea’s Nam Dong-hyub,...
Korean sales company Contents Panda is to launch sales on horror comedy Handsome Guys at the Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm) in Busan.
The film stars Lee Sung-min and Lee Hee-jun, who both starred in Woo Min-ho’s The Man Standing Next – South Korea’s entry to the Oscars in 2021. Lee Sung-min is also known for his role in Yoon Jong-bin’s Cannes 2018 title The Spy Gone North. The cast also includes Gong Seung-yeon (Aloners).
A first look at the feature can be seen above.
It marks the feature directorial debut of Korea’s Nam Dong-hyub,...
- 10/7/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
‘Hear Me: Our Summer’ is the remake of a popular Taiwanese romance feature.
Hive Filmworks has boarded sales of Hear Me: Our Summer, a Korean remake of popular Taiwanese romance feature Hear Me, and will launch the title at the Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm) in Busan.
It marks the second feature of director Jo Seon-Ho, whose time-loop mystery A Day proved a hit on release in 2017 and sold to a raft of key territories around the world.
His latest follows a young man who works part-time at his parents’ lunchbox house and a woman who lives only to support her hearing-impaired sister,...
Hive Filmworks has boarded sales of Hear Me: Our Summer, a Korean remake of popular Taiwanese romance feature Hear Me, and will launch the title at the Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm) in Busan.
It marks the second feature of director Jo Seon-Ho, whose time-loop mystery A Day proved a hit on release in 2017 and sold to a raft of key territories around the world.
His latest follows a young man who works part-time at his parents’ lunchbox house and a woman who lives only to support her hearing-impaired sister,...
- 10/7/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
The action film starring Shin Hae-sun is set for a release in Korea in October.
South Korean sales company Finecut has closed deals across Asia for vigilante action film Brave Citizen, ahead of its local release on October 25.
Theatrical distribution deals have been secured for Japan (Kadokawa K+), Taiwan (Moviecloud) and Vietnam (Lumix Media). An additional inflight deal has been closed with Kairos Distribution.
Directed by Park Jin-pyo (Voice Of A Murderer), the film is presented by Content Wavve, one of the leading Ott platforms in South Korea.
It is based on a webtoon of the same name, which was...
South Korean sales company Finecut has closed deals across Asia for vigilante action film Brave Citizen, ahead of its local release on October 25.
Theatrical distribution deals have been secured for Japan (Kadokawa K+), Taiwan (Moviecloud) and Vietnam (Lumix Media). An additional inflight deal has been closed with Kairos Distribution.
Directed by Park Jin-pyo (Voice Of A Murderer), the film is presented by Content Wavve, one of the leading Ott platforms in South Korea.
It is based on a webtoon of the same name, which was...
- 10/7/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
The actor is known for Taiwan box office hit ‘Marry My Dead Body’.
Hsu Kuang-han, the star of Taiwan box office hit Marry My Dead Body, will next be seen in romantic drama 18x2 by acclaimed Japanese director Michihito Fujii.
The actor, also known as Greg Han, will play opposite Japanese actress Kaya Kiyohara in the romance, which is in post-production. A first look at the two actors in the film can be seen above.
It is produced by Taiwan’s Jumpboys Films and Japan’s Babel Label, founded by director Fujii.
Happinet Phantom Studios will release the film in...
Hsu Kuang-han, the star of Taiwan box office hit Marry My Dead Body, will next be seen in romantic drama 18x2 by acclaimed Japanese director Michihito Fujii.
The actor, also known as Greg Han, will play opposite Japanese actress Kaya Kiyohara in the romance, which is in post-production. A first look at the two actors in the film can be seen above.
It is produced by Taiwan’s Jumpboys Films and Japan’s Babel Label, founded by director Fujii.
Happinet Phantom Studios will release the film in...
- 10/7/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
The actor is known for Taiwanese box office hit ‘Marry My Dead Body’.
Hsu Kuang-han, the star of Taiwanese box office hit Marry My Dead Body, will next be seen in romantic drama 18x2 by acclaimed Japanese director Michihito Fujii.
The actor, also known as Greg Han, will play opposite Japanese actress Kaya Kiyohara in the romance, which is in post-production.
It is produced by Taiwan’s Jumpboys Films and Japan’s Babel Label, founded by director Fujii.
Happinet Phantom Studios will release the film in Japan in May 2024 and is launching sales at the Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm), which opens in Busan today.
Hsu Kuang-han, the star of Taiwanese box office hit Marry My Dead Body, will next be seen in romantic drama 18x2 by acclaimed Japanese director Michihito Fujii.
The actor, also known as Greg Han, will play opposite Japanese actress Kaya Kiyohara in the romance, which is in post-production.
It is produced by Taiwan’s Jumpboys Films and Japan’s Babel Label, founded by director Fujii.
Happinet Phantom Studios will release the film in Japan in May 2024 and is launching sales at the Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm), which opens in Busan today.
- 10/7/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Michihito Fujii has emerged during the recent years as one of the most intriguing voices of Japanese cinema, with movies like “The Journalist”, “Yakuza and the Family” and “Day and Night” setting the tone for an impressive career. In the last few years, he seems to have been employed by Netflix in some way, since a number of his latest works premiere on the streaming platform. Not holding “Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 – Sustainable War” against him, since everyone who has dealt with that mess has left severely “scarred”, it was really interesting to see what his latest work, “Village” would be like, particularly since it seemed to incorporate a number of the genre elements he implemented excellently in his previous works.
Click the image below to follow our Tribute to Netflix
Yu Katayama is a young man who has been living in the Kamon village since childhood, not being able to leave,...
Click the image below to follow our Tribute to Netflix
Yu Katayama is a young man who has been living in the Kamon village since childhood, not being able to leave,...
- 6/18/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
If I had to define the word tedious with a movie, it might be Netflix’s Japanese-language film The Village, also known simply as “Village.” What looks like a mystery tinted with Japanese art and a deep message of “be kind to everything around you” turns out to be more tiring than inspiring. It’s quite disheartening because this movie could’ve turned out brutal and emotional if it weren’t so sporadically paced. The two hours have definitely been underutilized, and the details that have been paid attention to are redundant. A lot of the film is dark, and if you’re watching it in the daytime, it might be a little difficult to understand what exactly is happening. The plot attempts to cover the dark and difficult subjects of bullying, the idea of evil being hereditary, climate change, depopulation, and the abandonment of tradition for contemporary culture. While...
- 6/16/2023
- by Ruchika Bhat
- Film Fugitives
The Village is a Japanese film starring Ryusei Yokohama, Haru Kuroki, and Arata Furuta and directed by Michihito Fujii. The movie takes us on a journey between fantasy and reality in a Japanese village that has become a dumpsite. This film blends ancient tradition with the harsh reality of modern times, making it very relevant.
About the Movie
The film constantly seeks the truth, which is commendable. It is a different kind of movie on Netflix, as it is full of realism and delves into a pressing issue of contemporary society: waste management and the social problems it brings. It is a good starting point, and after an excellent opening sequence about Kabuki theater, the film continues to maintain our interest by presenting a well-told story that finds its own rhythm. With a lot of personality and a strong message, the film develops and reaches a level of maturity.
This movie will have its audience,...
About the Movie
The film constantly seeks the truth, which is commendable. It is a different kind of movie on Netflix, as it is full of realism and delves into a pressing issue of contemporary society: waste management and the social problems it brings. It is a good starting point, and after an excellent opening sequence about Kabuki theater, the film continues to maintain our interest by presenting a well-told story that finds its own rhythm. With a lot of personality and a strong message, the film develops and reaches a level of maturity.
This movie will have its audience,...
- 6/16/2023
- by Martin Cid
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
Informa is a Japanese series directed by Michihito Fujii starring Kenta Kiritani, Reo Sano and Go Morita.
Fancy a series about committed journalists? Yes, the kind that seeks the news and fervently fights to get the scoop… like in the movies before the Internet era.
Informa has just arrived from Japan.
Storyline
Kanji Mishima (Leo Sano) is a reporter for the Weekly Times, a newspaper that mainly reports gossip. He feels a sense of emptiness and discomfort as he spends his days chasing celebrity scandals without a shred of the journalistic spirit he had aspired to. One day, Mishima goes to Amagasaki to pick up a certain person under the direction of Asuka Nagasawa (Megumi), the editor-in-chief. Nagasawa sends him off by chance to fulfill Mishima’s former wish to “see a world you would never see if you lived a normal life,” but what awaits him is Keijiro Kihara...
Fancy a series about committed journalists? Yes, the kind that seeks the news and fervently fights to get the scoop… like in the movies before the Internet era.
Informa has just arrived from Japan.
Storyline
Kanji Mishima (Leo Sano) is a reporter for the Weekly Times, a newspaper that mainly reports gossip. He feels a sense of emptiness and discomfort as he spends his days chasing celebrity scandals without a shred of the journalistic spirit he had aspired to. One day, Mishima goes to Amagasaki to pick up a certain person under the direction of Asuka Nagasawa (Megumi), the editor-in-chief. Nagasawa sends him off by chance to fulfill Mishima’s former wish to “see a world you would never see if you lived a normal life,” but what awaits him is Keijiro Kihara...
- 3/21/2023
- by Veronica Loop
- Martin Cid - TV
Netflix is further boosting its Japanese live-action content slate with a multi-picture deal with Tokyo-based studio Babel Label. The partnership gives Netflix exclusive access to multiple titles produced and created by Babel Label for the next five years.
The studio, a subsidiary launched in 2013 by Japanese media company CyberAgent, is home to creators such as writer-director Michihito Fujii, winner of best director and best film at the 2020 Japan Academy Awards for The Journalist. The film was later adapted by Netflix as a series in 2022.
Netflix has grown increasingly bullish on Japanese live-action content over the past few years. The second season of the streamer’s Japanese sci-fi thriller series Alice in Borderland set a new record as the company’s most-watched Japanese show ever, taking the top spot on Netflix’s global non-English TV list with 61.2 million viewing hours over its premiere weekend in late December 2022. Last week, the company...
The studio, a subsidiary launched in 2013 by Japanese media company CyberAgent, is home to creators such as writer-director Michihito Fujii, winner of best director and best film at the 2020 Japan Academy Awards for The Journalist. The film was later adapted by Netflix as a series in 2022.
Netflix has grown increasingly bullish on Japanese live-action content over the past few years. The second season of the streamer’s Japanese sci-fi thriller series Alice in Borderland set a new record as the company’s most-watched Japanese show ever, taking the top spot on Netflix’s global non-English TV list with 61.2 million viewing hours over its premiere weekend in late December 2022. Last week, the company...
- 1/16/2023
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Michihito Fujii has directed a film – sometimes two, and sometimes even three – a year almost every year since he first came on to the scene in 2012 with his debut “Where Is The Better Future Of A Fake Town”. His 2020 semi-fantasy coming of age film “The Brightest Roof In The Universe” (based on the novel “Uchu De Ichiban Akarui Yane” by Tomoso Nonaka) is attempting to make its own wave at this year’s Toronto Japanese Film Festival. Clearly as prolific a director as they come, you’d think that the quantity of Fujii’s output might hinder their quality. However, if this sweet tale about an endearingly awkward teen navigating love and past trauma with the help of a mysterious scooter-riding granny is any indication, then Fujii, and us, have nothing to worry about.
“The Brightest Roof In The Universe” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
The story follows Tsubame,...
“The Brightest Roof In The Universe” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
The story follows Tsubame,...
- 6/24/2021
- by Luke Georgiades
- AsianMoviePulse
Michihito Fujii was born in Tokyo and graduated from the Nihon University College of Art Screenplay course. While studying at the university, he started to write scripts and began his activities as a director. His first feature-length movie was ”Oh! Father”, based on the same-named novel by Kotaro Isaka. His film, “The Journalist” received 6 Japan Academy Prize nominations and won three, including Picture of the Year, Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role and Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.
On the occasion of “A Family” screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival, we speak with him about shooting a movie about and researching the yakuza, his opinion about the rather harsh, current anti-yakuza law, the cycle of violence, his cooperation with Go Ayano and other topics.
Why did you decide to shoot a film about the yakuza? What is your opinion about its state through the years and now?...
On the occasion of “A Family” screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival, we speak with him about shooting a movie about and researching the yakuza, his opinion about the rather harsh, current anti-yakuza law, the cycle of violence, his cooperation with Go Ayano and other topics.
Why did you decide to shoot a film about the yakuza? What is your opinion about its state through the years and now?...
- 6/22/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Despite being active since 2013, Michihito Fujii has only managed to become more widely known in 2019, when two of his movies, “Night and Day” and “The Journalist” garnered much attention, both in Japan and internationally. “A Family” follows in the same footsteps of the two, both stylistically and contextually, with the second aspect focusing on an effort to present themes that are usually depicted in genre fashion, with realism. This time he deals with the world of yakuza, and particularly the concept of family within these organizations, which, supposedly, is one of the main values of the underworld.
“A Family” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
The story coves two decades in the life of Kenji Yamamoto, starting in 1999, when he has just lost his yakuza father, becoming an orphan, something that has turned him into an insolent punk, who seems to fear and respect of nothing, and is always...
“A Family” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival
The story coves two decades in the life of Kenji Yamamoto, starting in 1999, when he has just lost his yakuza father, becoming an orphan, something that has turned him into an insolent punk, who seems to fear and respect of nothing, and is always...
- 6/7/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
“The Journalist,” Michihito Fujii’s drama about a young female reporter who investigates a scandal that extends to the highest reaches of Japanese politics, won the Best Picture prize at the 43rd Japan Academy Awards ceremony, held in Tokyo Friday.
Due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus, no guests were invited and no media were on site to cover the ceremony at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa.
Based on Isoko Mochizuki‘s non-fiction book, “The Journalist” was a surprise box office hit last year, breaking an industry taboo against dramatizing real-life political controversy in commercial films.
Shim Eun-Kyung, who played the Korean-Japanese reporter, took the Best Actress prize. Meanwhile, Tori Matsuzaka, who co-starred as a conflicted elite bureaucrat the reporter uses as a source, was named Best Actor.
Japan’s biggest hit in 2019, Makoto Shinkai’s “Weathering With You,” scooped Best Animation honors, while the group Radwimps, which...
Due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus, no guests were invited and no media were on site to cover the ceremony at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa.
Based on Isoko Mochizuki‘s non-fiction book, “The Journalist” was a surprise box office hit last year, breaking an industry taboo against dramatizing real-life political controversy in commercial films.
Shim Eun-Kyung, who played the Korean-Japanese reporter, took the Best Actress prize. Meanwhile, Tori Matsuzaka, who co-starred as a conflicted elite bureaucrat the reporter uses as a source, was named Best Actor.
Japan’s biggest hit in 2019, Makoto Shinkai’s “Weathering With You,” scooped Best Animation honors, while the group Radwimps, which...
- 3/6/2020
- by Mark Schilling
- Variety Film + TV
Despite some major issues in the Japanese movie industry, mostly having to do with the lack of a middle ground between independent and blockbuster movies and continuous denial of some major companies to allow their movies to screen outside Japan, 2019 has been quite a good year for local cinema. The international festival circuit gave a lot of films the opportunity to both screen and find some source of funding outside Japan, while creativity (despite the fact that it derives from manga and novels mostly) remains one of the most significant traits of Japanese cinema.
Without further ado, here are the best Japanese films of 2019, in reverse order, with the focus being, as always, on diversity. Some films may have premiered in 2018, but since they mostly circulated in 2019, we decided to include them.
20. Okinawan Blue (Tsukasha Kishimoto)
At the same time, one could say that the film also deals with four...
Without further ado, here are the best Japanese films of 2019, in reverse order, with the focus being, as always, on diversity. Some films may have premiered in 2018, but since they mostly circulated in 2019, we decided to include them.
20. Okinawan Blue (Tsukasha Kishimoto)
At the same time, one could say that the film also deals with four...
- 12/13/2019
- by AMP Group
- AsianMoviePulse
A publisher of bestselling novels that has become a broad-based media company, Kadokawa has brought one of its biggest recent projects to Tiffcom. Titled “Fukushima 50,” the film tells the true-life story of workers at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant who, over five desperate days, reined in a nuclear disaster that could have caused the evacuation of Tokyo and other country-crippling damage, following the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Setsuro Watanabe directs and Ken Watanabe and Koichi Sato star, with release set for next year.
Also on the lineup is “A Girl Missing,” a drama by Koji Fukada, winner of the 2016 Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize for his dark family drama “Haromonium.” Mariko Tsutusi stars as an in-home caregiver who finds herself swept up in a scandal when her own nephew is charged with kidnapping.
Arriving at the market with a ripped-from-the-headlines story is Michihito Fujii’s “The Journalist.” Korean actress...
Also on the lineup is “A Girl Missing,” a drama by Koji Fukada, winner of the 2016 Cannes Un Certain Regard Jury Prize for his dark family drama “Haromonium.” Mariko Tsutusi stars as an in-home caregiver who finds herself swept up in a scandal when her own nephew is charged with kidnapping.
Arriving at the market with a ripped-from-the-headlines story is Michihito Fujii’s “The Journalist.” Korean actress...
- 10/24/2019
- by Mark Schilling
- Variety Film + TV
Revenge might be said to be a dish best served cold, but Michihito Fujii’s new film “Day and Night” questions if it needs to be served at all. The film, produced and co-written by Japanese superstar Takayuki Yamada, will be screening at Fantasia International Film Festival 2019.
“Day and Night” is screening at Fantasia International Film Festival
Koji Akashi returns home from Tokyo following the suicide of his father, a whistleblower for a large automobile company. As his father’s extreme step has left the family debt-ridden and hounded by debtors as well as workers of the automobile company, Akashi decides to stay back to help his mother and young sister and to find the truth about the mystery that surrounds his father’s death. In his search for truth, he meets Kenichi Kitamura, a suave man who alleges that he has a debt of gratitude towards Akashi’s father...
“Day and Night” is screening at Fantasia International Film Festival
Koji Akashi returns home from Tokyo following the suicide of his father, a whistleblower for a large automobile company. As his father’s extreme step has left the family debt-ridden and hounded by debtors as well as workers of the automobile company, Akashi decides to stay back to help his mother and young sister and to find the truth about the mystery that surrounds his father’s death. In his search for truth, he meets Kenichi Kitamura, a suave man who alleges that he has a debt of gratitude towards Akashi’s father...
- 7/30/2019
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Questioning the role of the traditional media seems to be a global phenomenon at the moment, particularly in the countries that comprise the “First World”. The questions raised, from the Us to Japan and in many countries between, usually reveal answers that highlight the press as another pole of the national-level corruption, along with organized crime, the “capital”, the authorities, and politicians. Michihito Fujii presents his take on the issue, through an approach that unfolds much like a Korean thriller.
“The Journalist” is screening at Japan Cuts 2019
The story, which is based on reporter Isoko Mochizuki’s book “Shinbun Kisha”, revolves around two individuals. Yoshioka is a Us-educated Tokyo reporter working for Toto Newspaper, whose father’s destroyed journalism career and subsequent suicide is the driving force behind her zeal to pursue the truth at any cost. Takumi Sugihara is a bureaucrat and careerist who works for the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office,...
“The Journalist” is screening at Japan Cuts 2019
The story, which is based on reporter Isoko Mochizuki’s book “Shinbun Kisha”, revolves around two individuals. Yoshioka is a Us-educated Tokyo reporter working for Toto Newspaper, whose father’s destroyed journalism career and subsequent suicide is the driving force behind her zeal to pursue the truth at any cost. Takumi Sugihara is a bureaucrat and careerist who works for the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office,...
- 7/28/2019
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
With a final wave of programming, the 2019 edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival has now released its full lineup, featuring over 130 incredible features from across the globe.
Fantasia International Film Festival
Montreal, Quebec – July 11 to August 1
In addition, the festival is also very proud to announce a record number of repertory titles, its esteemed 2019 jury, a horror film location bus tour through Montreal, and exciting, one-of-a-kind live events with producer Edward R. Pressman, “First Blood” director Ted Kotcheff, and iconic horror host Joe Bob Briggs.
Japanese horror icon ”Sadako” will open fantasia 2019!
Sadako
Twenty years ago, Fantasia celebrated the North American Premiere of Hideo Nakata’s “Ringu” and its sequel, which led to Dreamworks acquiring the franchise and is largely seen as having been the birth of J-Horror in the West. This Summer, the festival is proud to open its 23rd edition with the series’ latest sequel, “Sadako” (North...
Fantasia International Film Festival
Montreal, Quebec – July 11 to August 1
In addition, the festival is also very proud to announce a record number of repertory titles, its esteemed 2019 jury, a horror film location bus tour through Montreal, and exciting, one-of-a-kind live events with producer Edward R. Pressman, “First Blood” director Ted Kotcheff, and iconic horror host Joe Bob Briggs.
Japanese horror icon ”Sadako” will open fantasia 2019!
Sadako
Twenty years ago, Fantasia celebrated the North American Premiere of Hideo Nakata’s “Ringu” and its sequel, which led to Dreamworks acquiring the franchise and is largely seen as having been the birth of J-Horror in the West. This Summer, the festival is proud to open its 23rd edition with the series’ latest sequel, “Sadako” (North...
- 6/28/2019
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Ken Watanabe and Koichi Sato star in the film.
Japanese studio Kadokawa Corp is arriving in Cannes with a busy slate headed by action drama Fukushima 50, starring Ken Watanabe and Koichi Sato, and also including new titles from Takahisa Zeze, Koji Fukada and Michihito Fujii.
Directed by Setsuro Wakamatsu (The Unbroken), Fukushima 50 tells the story of the courageous group of workers who remained on site to stabilise the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant during its meltdown following the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami.
Based on Ryusho Kadota’s book On The Brink: The Inside Story of Fukushima Daiichi, the...
Japanese studio Kadokawa Corp is arriving in Cannes with a busy slate headed by action drama Fukushima 50, starring Ken Watanabe and Koichi Sato, and also including new titles from Takahisa Zeze, Koji Fukada and Michihito Fujii.
Directed by Setsuro Wakamatsu (The Unbroken), Fukushima 50 tells the story of the courageous group of workers who remained on site to stabilise the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant during its meltdown following the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami.
Based on Ryusho Kadota’s book On The Brink: The Inside Story of Fukushima Daiichi, the...
- 5/14/2019
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
Japan’s Nikkatsu is poised to be one of the busiest sales companies at the Tiffcom market this week. In addition to local hit “One Cut of the Dead” and festival favorite “Killing,” the company has a slate of titles in post-production that it is pitching at the autumn festivals and markets.
Youth drama, “We Are Little Zombies” is set for an early summer release in 2019. Written and directed by Makoto Nagahisa, who last year won a grand prize at Sundance for his short film “And So We Put Goldfish in The Pool,” the film is a story of four youngsters who all lose their parents around the same time. Realizing that they are devoid of emotion, they put together a kick-ass band to try to recover their ability to feel.
Written and directed by Indonesia’s Kimo Stamboel – one half of the so-called Mo Brothers – “Dreadout: Tower of Hell...
Youth drama, “We Are Little Zombies” is set for an early summer release in 2019. Written and directed by Makoto Nagahisa, who last year won a grand prize at Sundance for his short film “And So We Put Goldfish in The Pool,” the film is a story of four youngsters who all lose their parents around the same time. Realizing that they are devoid of emotion, they put together a kick-ass band to try to recover their ability to feel.
Written and directed by Indonesia’s Kimo Stamboel – one half of the so-called Mo Brothers – “Dreadout: Tower of Hell...
- 10/23/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
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