The 2020 edition of the Raindance Film Festival takes place online from October 20th to November 07th with the UK being able to enjoy all of the entire programme while people in other parts of the world can enjoy certain content. All of the films are available for free but the organisers are asking for a donation (click here to find out more). There are a couple of Japanese films. Here they are…
Click on the title links to be taken to more information:
夜明けを信じて。 「Sekai kara kibou ga kietanara.」
Release Date: October 16th, 2020
Duration: 135 mins.
Director: Hiroshi Akabane
Writer: Sayaka Ookawa (Screenplay), Ryuhou Ookawa (Novel)
Starring: Hiroaki Tanaka, Yoshiko Sengen, Nao Hasegawa, Yoshimi Ashikawa, Tamotsu Ishibashi
Synopsis: Satoru Ichijo receives a message from the spiritual world and realises his mission is to lead humankind to happiness. He becomes a successful businessman while secretly publishing spiritual messages, but the devil’s temptation shakes his mind.
The Past is Always New, The Future is Always Nostalgic: Photographer Daido Moriyama 
過去はいつも新しく、未来はつねに懐かしい 写真家 森山大道 「Kako wa itsumo atarashiku, mirai wa tsuneni natsukashī shashin-ka moriyama taidō」
Release Date: April 30th, 2021
Duration: 108 mins.
Director: Gen Iwama
Writer: N/A
Starring: Daido Moriyama, Satoru Machiguchi, Yutaka Kamibayashi,
This one is a nice scoop.
Synopsis: A documentary about award-winning and world-renowned photographer Daido Moriyama, winner of the Hasselblad International Photo Award, which is said to be the Nobel Prize in the photography world in 2019. He is in his 80s and first got his start in the 1960s with his blurry, high-contrast, shoot-from-the-hip style and uncanny ability to find arresting compositions and subjects on Tokyo’s bustling streets. He still works today and the documentary tracks his work and glances back at past photos since it was recorded after the 50th anniversary edition of his ground-breaking book, Japan: A Photo Theater which was published in 1968.
Here’s past coverage of the festival: