The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2019 Details

Date: 2019 January 08 21:44

Posted by Joe

It's 2019 and a new year marks a new cinema season from The Japan Foundation. This year The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2019 has the theme of People Still Call It Love, covering Passion, Affection and Destruction in Japanese Cinema.

The screenings will kick off at the ICA in London, then go around the UK. As always they've got an exceptional amount of Japanese cinema to indulge in, whatever you fancy chances are you'll find something you like and discover something new and exciting for your films to watch this year.

Anime fans will want to book tickets for Penguin Highway, the quirky award winning story from the mind of Tomihiko Morimi who also wrote the lovely The Night is Short, Walk on Girl and the fabously enjoyable tanuki family comedy-drama The Eccentric Family. This movie is directed by Hiroyasu Ishida and features a town coping with the sudden unexpected influx of penguins. Just by the description alone it sounds a lot like a story from Tomihiko Morimi.

There are 18 films in total to enjoy, so check out the tour programme and find something that takes your fancy.

As always we advise you book early to avoid disappointment.

Full Story

Details as follows:

Love, in all its semblances and dimensions, is a state so universally experienced by humankind that it has provided a perpetual source of inspiration in the long history of global cinema.

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2019 features thoughtfully selected works from Japan's artistic repertoire, all focusing on this theme in one way or another. As the conventional binaries defining what it means to love continually give way to new understandings of this sweeping emotion, so too does this year's curation aim to provide insights into a wider context of love in Japanese society.

The following is the screenings schedule for the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London.

Book tickets here.



Tremble All You Want 勝手にふるえてろ

Rom-com adaptation of Risa Wataya's novel depicts a love life in disarray. Will a junior accountant Yoshika (Mayu Matsuoka), who is inexperienced in love, choose bachelor number 1 - her former high school crush, or bachelor number 2 - an office colleague interested in dating her?

Directed by Akiko Ohku, 2017, 117 min, English Subtitles

Screening at: ICA, Saturday 2nd February, 1.50pm



Where Chimneys Are Seen 煙突の見える場所

Ryukichi (Ken Uehara) lives in a cheap rental house together with his wife, Hiroko (Kinuyo Tanaka), who was traumatised in the war. One day, a baby is abandoned on their doorstep. Who is the mother? A drama representative of Gosho's work, this is a rare find that focuses on family life in the downtown of post-war Tokyo.

Directed by Heinosuke Gosho, 1953, 108 min, English Subtitles

Screening at: ICA, Saturday 2nd February, 4.10pm



The Scythian Lamb 羊の木

A small seaside town decides to welcome six strangers into the community in an effort to mitigate its population decline. But the motley crew of newcomers have a chequered past and, before long, uneasiness begins to creep over the quiet city in this blackly comic suspense thriller.

Directed by Daihachi Yoshida, 2018, 126 min, English Subtitles

Screening at: ICA, Saturday 2nd February, 6.20pm



Destiny: The Tale of Kamakura
DESTINY 鎌倉物語

Spectacular live-action adaptation of a bestselling fantasy manga series set in old-town Kamakura. One morning, mystery writer Masakazu (Masato Sakai) wakes to find his new bride spirited away, prompting him to embark on an epic journey to bring her back.

Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, 2017, 129 min, English Subtitles

Screening at: ICA, Sunday 3rd February, 1.30pm


Dad's Lunch Box パパのお弁当は世界一

Based on a touching true story and viral sensation on Twitter. Freshly divorced dad (Toshimi Watanabe) faces a new micro challenge in the unfamiliar life as a single parent: preparing his teenage daughter's daily lunchbox having never cooked a meal in his life. How will he get on?

Directed by Masakazu Fukatsu, 2017, 76 min, English Subtitles

Screening at: ICA, Sunday 3rd February, 4.00pm



Her Love Boils Bathwater
湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛

A mother's love burns hot. Using a heartrending diagnosis as a catalyst, this internationally-acclaimed drama charts the race of a terminally ill woman (Rie Miyazawa) to mend her family in the time she has left.

Directed by Ryota Nakano, 2016, 125 min, English Subtitles

Screening at: ICA, Sunday 3rd February, 6.00pm
Screening at: ICA, Friday 8th February, 8.40pm



Blindly In Love 箱入り息子の恋

35 year old local council employee Kentaro (Gen Hoshino) is socially inept, leading a monotonous life and finding it hard to date. Desperate, his parents arrange a meeting between Kentaro and a beautiful woman, Naoko (Kaho). It is revealed she is blind. Will a tender romance bloom?

Directed by Masahide Ichii, 2013, 117 min, English Subtitles

Screening at: ICA, Tuesday 5th February, 6.15pm
Screening at: ICA, Sunday 10th February, 1.10pm



Yurigokoro ユリゴコロ

"Without remorse, I take a life..." So begins an incriminating diary entry discovered by Ryosuke (Tori Matsuzaka) in the study of his dying father. But is it a confession or just fanciful storytelling? Based on Mahokaru Numata's mystery novel, Nan-Core, the film illustrates a devastating love story.

Directed by Naoto Kumazawa, 2017, 128 min, English Subtitles

Screening at: ICA, Tuesday 5th February, 8.30pm



Dear Etranger 幼な子われらに生まれ

What does it take to attain the ideal of a united family? In this poignant drama, a 40 year old man (Tadanobu Asano) faces many trials in making his patchwork clan work: teenage angst of his new wife's daughter; a new child on the way; a career in decline..

Directed by Yukiko Mishima, 2017, 127 min, English Subtitles

Screening at: ICA, Wednesday 6th February, 6.20pm



Pumpkin and Mayonnaise
南瓜とマヨネーズ

Tsuchida (Asami Usuda) works secretly at a host club to support her live-in boyfriend, Seiichi (Taiga), an uninspired and struggling musician. Just as her double life is about to be discovered, an old flame returns to Tsuchida's life throwing her heart into disarray. Based on Kiriko Nananan's epic comic illustrating a painful love story of sacrifice, irresoluteness and betrayal.

Directed by Masanori Tominaga, 2017, 93 min, English Subtitles

Screening at: ICA, Thursday 7th February, 6.30pm



My Friend 'A' 友罪

After one of his articles inadvertently causes a tragedy, a journalist (Toma Ikuta) resigns himself to a life of labour at a small factory. There he meets the recluse Suzuki (Eita); he soon begins to suspect the co-worker may have been responsible for a spate of child murders 17 years ago..

Directed by Takahisa Zeze, 2018, 128 min, English Subtitles

Screening at: ICA, Thursday 7th February, 8.30pm



Thicker Than Water 犬猿

A straight-laced office worker, Kazunari (Masataka Kubota), is suddenly besieged by his jailbird brother, while a competent but unattractive shopkeeper, Yuriya (Keiko Enoue), stands always in the shadow of her pretty sister. A gripping drama exploring universally experienced sibling rivalry and the thin line between love and hate.

Directed by Keisuke Yoshida, 2018, 103 min, English Subtitles

Screening at: ICA, Friday 8th February, 6.20pm
Screening at: ICA, Saturday 9th February, 8.30pm

Both screenings will be accompanied by a Q&A with director Keisuke Yoshida.



Good Stripes グッド・ストライプス

Midori (Akiko Kikuchi) and Masao (Ayumu Nakajima) consider breaking up as their relationship grows dull. Just then, Midori discovers she is pregnant and they feel obligated to stay together. While preparing for their shotgun wedding, vast differences in their upbringing arise.

Directed by Yukiko Sode, 2015, 118 min, English Subtitles

Screening at: ICA, Saturday 9th February, 1.40pm



Penguin Highway ペンギン・ハイウェイ

A fourth-grader, Aoyama, enlists his friends in a mission to investigate the sudden and puzzling influx of penguins in his village; a phenomenon which is somehow connected to the powers of Aoyama's crush - a young woman working at a dental clinic.

Directed by Hiroyasu Ishida, 2018, 118 min, English Subtitles

Screening at: ICA, Saturday 9th February, 4.00pm



Tonight, at the Movies
今夜、ロマンス劇場で

Set in the 60s, an aspiring director's dreams materialise quite literally when he meets Princess Miyuki (Haruka Ayase) who magically steps off the screen one night, all in monochrome. Kenji (Kentaro Sakaguchi) cannot help falling in love with his fantasy girl but she has a secret...

Directed by Hideki Takeuchi, 2018, 109 min, English Subtitles

Screening at: ICA, Saturday 9th February, 6.20pm



Born Bone Born 洗骨

Family ties are pulled taut and frayed when the Shinjo clan comes together for the customary ritual of senkotsu, or 'bone washing', of their matriarch - an indigenous tradition in the remote island of Okinawa. A humorous exploration of one family's connection with their ancestry.

Directed by Toshiyuki Teruya, 2018, 111 min, English Subtitles

Screening at: ICA, Sunday 10th February, 3.30pm



Three Stories of Love 恋人たち

A widower (Atsushi Shinohara) seeks revenge for his wife's murder. Toko (Toko Narushima) is an unfulfilled and exploited housewife. Elite lawyer Shinomiya (Ryo Ikeda) harbours secret feelings for his male friend. Offering a glimpse into the microcosm of relationships within Japanese society, three vignettes tell very different stories of love, loss and rejection.

Directed by Ryosuke Hashiguchi, 2015, 140 min, English Subtitles

Screening at: ICA, Sunday 10th February, 6.00pm


Dates and Venues

2 - 10 February
ICA, London
Box office: 020 7930 3647
www.ica.art


2 - 28 February*
Watershed, Bristol
Box office: 0117 927 5100
watershed.co.uk


3 February - 24 March*
Firstsite, Colchester
Box office: 01206 713 700
www.firstsite.uk


10 February - 23 March*
Queen's Film Theatre, Belfast
Box office: 028 9097 1097
www.queensfilmtheatre.com


4 February - 26 March*
Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling
Box office: 01786 466666
macrobertartscentre.org


3 February - 26 March*
Phoenix, Leicester
Box office: 0116 242 2800
www.phoenix.org.uk


4 - 27 February*
Showroom, Sheffield
Box office: 0114 275 7727
www.showroomworkstation.org.uk


8 - 10 February
QUAD, Derby
Box office: 01332 290606
www.derbyquad.co.uk


20 - 27 February*
HOME, Manchester
Box office: 0161 200 1500
homemcr.org


14 February - 21 March*
The Brewery Arts Centre Cinema, Kendal
Box office: 01539 725133
www.breweryarts.co.uk


6 - 27 March*
Exeter Phoenix, Exeter
Box office: 01392 667080
www.exeterphoenix.org.uk


18 February - 4 March*
Depot, Lewes
Box office: 01273 525354
lewesdepot.org


23 February - 3 March*
Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee
Box office: 01382 432444
www.dca.org.uk


15 - 24 March*
Filmhouse, Edinburgh
Box office: 0131 228 2688
www.filmhousecinema.com


7 - 26 February*
Eden Court, Inverness
Box office: 01463 234 234
www.eden-court.co.uk


9 February - 24 March*
Square Chapel, Halifax
Box office: 01422 349 422
www.squarechapel.co.uk

3 - 24 February*
Storyhouse, Chester
Box office: 01244 409 113
www.storyhouse.com


22 - 28 March
Broadway, Nottingham
Box office: 0115 952 6611
www.broadway.org.uk

12 - 25 March*
Tyneside, Newcastle
Box office: 0191 227 5500
www.tynesidecinema.co.uk

*Screening dates vary