Stream Contemporary Japanese Film with the Chicago Japan Film Collective (May 21st to 30th 2022)

Chicago Japan Film Collective is a Japanese film festival in America’s Midwest which was created with the express aim of introducing work created by women, the LGBTQ community and indie filmmakers to local audiences. This year’s run will last from May 21 to the 30, they will stream/screen 14 films that centre on the theme of love.

The films are a mixture of dramas and documentaries, many of them highly acclaimed by critics and audiences alike. The majority are streamable but there are three films that are going to be screened in cinemas. You can read some of my reviews and interviews with two of the directors via links below. There are also a lot of newer films and they look exciting!

What has been selected for the festival?

Korea Independent Animation Festival 2022 in Japan

The 2022 edition of the Korea Independent Animation Festival will run online from May 18th to the 22nd.

The festival will host a collection of around 20 films and three talk sessions, all of which will be screened online. The films consist of two programmes, one dedicated to Korean animated shorts and the other a programme of shorts from creators based in countries in Asia. The Asian shorts programmes clocks in at an hour for the five films on offer while the Korean indie animation comes to two hours worth of titles.

Japanese and Korean Films at the Cannes Film Festival 2022

This year’s Cannes Film Festival will May 17-28 and it will be a physical event. The official line-up of films has been announced and there are some major titles from Asia. Quite interestingly, the festival will open with the French remake of One Cut of the Dead. Trailer below.

On to the Asian films!

There is a mix of big Hollywood titles like Tom Cruise with his Top Gun movie and Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis with European films like Olivier Assayas’ remake of Irma Vep and Claire Denis with Stars at Noon.

Similarly, the Asian titles extend to big hitters competing for the Palme d’Or in the Official Competition section with a budding talent in the Un Certain Regard category, a section designed to recognise more unusual styles and film and recognise young talents. There is even a newbie directing (not acting) talent in the Midnight Screening section. Attendees will also get the chance to watch Naomi Kawase’s Tokyo 2022 Olympics documentary.

Following last year’s success of Drive My Car, will we see the next big Asian title here?

Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022’s Japanese Films

Following on from releasing info on the outline of Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022, the Opening and Closing films and also the Online Theater, I will now look at many of the Japanese titles that will be featured in cinemas in Osaka. Details below!

Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022: 10 Japanese Films Online and Available Internationally

Following on from releasing info on the outline of this year’s Osaka Asian Film Festival  2022 and the Opening and Closing films that will be screened in cinemas in Osaka, I will now go into a bit more detail of the online portion of the festival which launches TODAY and is available around the world. Read on!

Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022’s Opening and Closing Films

Following on from releasing info on the outline of this year’s Osaka Asian Film Festival  2022 and confirming that there will be in-person screenings and online screenings, many of which will be available to international audiences, the organisers have detailed the Opening and Closing films that will be screened in cinemas in Osaka. Details below!

Japanese Films at the Berlin International Film Festival 2022

The 72nd Berlin International Film Festival will be taking place from February 10 to 20 and it will be an in-person event and advance ticket sales start today. Of course, there are stringent safety protocols to prevent Covid-19 infections but there will be guests at screenings.

What are the Japanese films programmed so far?

Japanese Films at the Glasgow Film Festival 2022

The Glasgow Film Festival (March 02nd – March 13th) will launch next month.

Here is what is on offer:

Osaka Asian Film Festival 2022 – In Cinemas, Online, and International

The organisers of the Osaka Asian Film Festival have released the outline of their 2022 edition with confirmation that there will be in-person screenings and, for the second year running, online screenings. Many of these online screenings will be available to international audiences. Details below!

Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2022 – What Lies Beneath The Intricate Representations of a ‘Dark Mind’ in Japanese Cinema

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme goes physical for in-person screenings in its 2022 edition. In arthouse cinemas across the UK, from  February 04 to March 31, audiences in the region will be able to see a selection of 20 films that have been selected to fit this year’s theme, “representations of dark minds.”

Here are trailers for the films: