2018 Line-up Announcement

Guests Include some of Japan's Top Actors, Directors and Even a Nobel Peace Prize Recipient!ECIPIENT!

Some highlights of the 2018 Japanese Film Festival include:

Japanese superstar actor and filmmaker TAKUMI SAITOH’s acclaimed feature directorial debut BLANK 13 makes its Canadian Premiere with Mr. Saitoh in attendance. The film received the Asian New Talent Award for Best Director at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

One of the most talented and in-demand young actresses, MAYU MATSUOKA joins the festival for two films: her Tokyo International Film Festival Audience Award-winning TREMBLE ALL YOU WANT and CHIHAYAFURU – PART 3. Ms. Matsuoka also appears in Takumi Saitoh’s BLANK 13.

MASATO HARADA’s samurai battle epic SEKIGAHARA makes it Canadian premiere with director Harada in attendance.

2017 Nobel Peace Prize recipient and Hiroshima survivor SETSUKO THURLOW will host a screening of a restored version on Hideo Sekigawa’s 1953 classic HIROSHIMA.

Director DAIHACHI YOSHIDA brings the North American premiere of his new thriller THE SCYTHIAN LAMB.

The festival opens with the Canadian premiere of Takashi Yamazaki’s DESTINY – THE TALE OF KAMAKURA and closes with the North American premiere of Yojiro (Departures) Takita’s THE LAST RECIPE.

Other films include international, North American and Canadian Premieres of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s YOCHO – FOREBODING, Hideki Takeuchi’s COLOR ME TRUE, Sion Sono’s TOKYO VAMPIRE HOTEL, Katsuyuki Motohiro’s LAUGHING UNDER THE CLOUDS, Su-Yeon Gu’s MIKO GIRL, Masaharu Take’s WE MAKE ANITIQUES, Junichi Ishikawa’s MIXED DOUBLES, Junji Sakamoto’s ERNESTO, and two by Ryoichi Hiroki: MIRACLES OF THE NAMIYA GENERAL STORE and SIDE JOB. Toronto premieres include Takeshi Kitano’s OUTRAGE – CODA, Daihachi Yoshida’s A BEAUTIFUL STAR, Nobuhiko Obayashi’s HANAGATAMI, Masaaki Yuasa’s anime masterpiece THE NIGHT IS SHORT, WALK ON GIRL, and Yoji Yamada’s WHAT A WONDERFUL FAMILY 2. TIFF encore screenings include Kazuya Shiraishi’s BIRDS WITHOUT NAMES, and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s THE THIRD MURDER.

Additional films and guests to be determined.

All films at the Japanese Film Festival are screened at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto.

Tickets and passes on sale May 1 at 10:00am at 416-441-2345 or www.torontojff.com

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