OSAKA ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL 2016

A Festival Worth Leaving Town to Attend

Venue(s): ABC Hall, Umeda Burg 7, Cine Libre Umeda, Seventh Art Theater, others
March 4 to 13, 2016: visit official site: http://www.oaff.jp/2016/en/schedule/index.html
Language: Multilanguage with Japanese and English subtitles
Official website: www.oaff.jp/2016/en/index.html

Advance tickets: Available from February 20, 2016
Talk event: Many events and guests, please check the official site: http://www.oaff.jp/2016/en/event/index.html

Title: 第11回大阪アジアン映画祭 (Osaka Asian Film Festival 2016)

We at Tokyo Filmgoer are big fans of the Osaka Asian Film Festival, even if it’s nowhere near Tokyo. Held in Japan’s No. 2 city for filmgoers — which also happens to be its capital of commerce and its lifestyle trendsetting hotspot — the festival has always been a favorite of Tokyo’s many Asian-cinema-focused cinephiles, who think nothing of hopping on the shinkansen and joining the party each year.

You should, too. You’ll find Osaka’s laidback atmosphere, its excess of drinking spots and the easy access to festival guests all add up to an experience that’s far friendlier than you ever imagined.

Now in its 11^th year and running from March 4-13, the OAFF’s stature as an international heavyweight continues to expand, with a lineup of 55 world and Japan premieres across its Competition, Special Screenings and Indie Forum sections, as well as spotlights on new action films, Taiwanese, Vietnamese and Hong Kong titles — nearly all of which will be shown with English subs.

For Japanese-film aficionados, there are two exciting announcements this year, alongside which films will be in the lineup: First is the selection of Masatoshi Nagase as recipient of the Osaka Asia Star ★ Award, bestowed on a film artist who has played an important role in the Asian film world. Nagase is known globally for his starring turn in Jim Jarmusch’s 1989 Mystery Train, as well as for an array of indelible roles for Yoji Yamada (My Sons, Abduction and Hidden Blade), Friðrik Þór Friðriksson (Cold Fever), Kaizo Hayashi (whose Asian Beat Project was a series of 6 films shot in 6 Asian countries, each of them in a different genre and each starring Nagase). The actor also starred in OAFF 2014 Audience Award winner Kano, from Taiwan, and in last year’s Naomi Kawase hit An. Nagase is an enduringly popular, exceptionally versatile performer, and he will be in Osaka in person to receive the award and talk about his career.

The second announcement is that OAFF has just tied up with New York City’s venerable Japan Society to bestow the inaugural Japan Cuts Award on one of the local films screening in the Indie Forum section. The recognition is sure to boost the international visibility of an emerging director with a unique vision, who will be selected by the organizers of Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film and surely receive an invitation to New York in July.

The Indie Forum section features 14 new films, including On Our Shoulders by Keiko Tsuruoka (Pia winner for Town of Whales), the latest from Keihiro Kanyama (Seesaw), Somewhere in My Memory, and the directorial debut from actress Aki Morita, Kenji-kun no Haru.

As its name promises, OAFF is heavy on the latest Asian fare, including this year’s Opening Film, Wansei Back Home, from Taiwan’s Ming-cheng Huang. The hit 2015 documentary concerns Japanese born in Taiwan during the 1895-1945 colonial period, and their sad fates after Japan’s defeat in WWII.

But there are also 18 Japanese films in the lineup. They include the Closing Film, Shuichi Okita’s The Mohican Comes Home, starring a mohawked Ryuhei Matsuda and Atsuko Maeda. Okita is the writer-director of charming comedies The Chef of South Polar, The Woodsman and the Rain and Ecotherapy Getaway Holiday, and his newest is not likely to disappoint.

Kazutoshi Inudo’s Tsumugu, representing Japan in the Competition section, tells the story of a Korean nurse who comes to Japan on a working holiday, and takes care of a washi paper-maker. Inudo made a splash in 2014 with his Coming Out.

 

 

 

Another don’t-miss title is Artist of Fasting, from artist-activist Masao Adachi (AKA: Serial Killer),
arguably the most radical filmmaker in Japanese history. Mining his usual anti-capitalist territory, inspired by a Franz Kafka short story, Adachi’s film is just as vibrant, transgressive and full of ideas as work he made 40 years ago.

 

 

 

There is also a documentary on the Japanese punk bands populating the New York City clubbing scene (Mad Tiger) and a special presentation of the well-regarded documentary
Chambara: The Art of Japanese Swordplay.

 

 

 

 

 

The full Japanese lineup is below.

Closing Film
The Mohican Comes Home – OKITA Shuichi/2016/Japan

Competition Section
This section presents 11 films that are unreleased in Japan. International jurors will choose the winners of the Grand Prix and Most Promising Talent Award.
Tsumugu – INUDO Kazutoshi (犬童一利) /2016/Japan [WP]

Special Screenings
Artist Of Fasting – ADACHI Masao/2015/Japan

Indie Forum
5 To 9 – TAY Bee-pin, MIYAZAKI Daisuke, Vincent DU, Rasiguet SOOKKARN/2015/Singapore, Japan, China, Thailand
Kenji-Kun No Haru – MORITA Aki/2015/Japan
Kisarazu – SAITO Toshimichi/2016/Japan [WP]
A Light In The Distance – TSURUOKA Keiko/2014/Japan
Mad Tiger – Jonathan YI, Michael HAERTLINE/2015/Japan, USA [IP]
Rumah – Yosep Anngi NOEN/2015/Japan
Somewhere In My Memory – KANYAMA Keihiro/2015/Japan
Tomo Ni Katsugeba: On Our Shoulders – TSURUOKA Keiko/2015/Japan [WP]
To See Mother – TAKAGI Shunichi/2016/Japan [WP]
Yume-no-hito – SAKAMOTO Rei/2015/Japan [WP]

12th CO2 Grant-recipient Films
Eriko, Pretended – FUJIMURA Akiyo/2016/Japan [WP]
I Am A Weapon – MIMA Akihiro /2016/Japan [WP]
The Man Who Was Eaten – KONDO Keisuke/2016/Japan [WP]

Special Presentation
CHAMBARA: The Art Of Japanese Swordplay – NAKAJIMA Sadao /2015/Japan