I’ve briefly mentioned that I write for Gigan magazine in previous posts but neglected to tell you guys just what it is.
Gigan magazine is named after a monster that fought Godzilla. The magazine is dedicated to promoting the
latest Japanese films and providing information on film festivals and releases. Rent-a-Neko, Like Father, Like Son, The Kirishima Thing, Friendship, and Remiges are some of the titles we have covered as well as bringing a focus on the Japanese films screened at different types of film festivals like the recent Raindance Independent Film Festival. What makes this magazine unique is that it has a focus on Japanese films, particularly indie ones, and it is available in English. This focus is not seen in other English-language magazines and websites. Furthermore the content is the most up to date information available. Due to some of the staff ,who are based in Japan and work in the Japanese film industry, the magazine can give accurate and detailed information on some of the education and business institutions in Japan who create films and filmmakers, the personalities making films, emerging trends and so on.
Kanagawa University of Fine Arts, Office of Film Research, ©Tokyo University of the Arts
The magazine is available in a digital format (PDF) through payhip for the sum of $1.00. The magazine is also available in a physical format in London and Tokyo (at the Monocle Magazine’s cafe). The first issue is already on sale online. The first issue premièred at the Raindance Film Festival and that seemed to go down well with the readers I talked to (apart from reviews of Shady and The Kirishima Thing which were wrong! – I’ll be honest about this because those two films are two of the best I have seen this year). So far our online presence extends to Tumblr, Twitter which our editor is constantly updating. We also have a webpage still under construction but with the second issue due out soon I’m sure these things will improve not least because our hard working editor has managed to get quite a few scoops and connections.
The Kirishima Thing by Daihachi Yoshida © 2012 “Kirishima” Film Club © Ryo Asai / SHUEISHA
Anyway the next issue will focus on the films of Hirokazu Koreeda.
