Happy Weekend
This is the second of a two-part trailer post – the first part is here – and it comes less than a week before the Berlin International Film Festival 2023 launches. You can see the line-up of Japanese films in my annual preview of the festival.
The most exciting news for me this week was that the synopses that I have been working on for Osaka Asian Film Festival 2023 have gone online. It was great to watch all of the films and I hope people find the information and trailers and film images useful! I’ve still got plenty of work to do.
In terms of films I have watched, this week was all about Hong Kong with…
Princess Madam, Mission of Justice, Dreaming the Reality, Dreadnaught, Killer Angels, Devil Hunters, and The Iceman Cometh.
What other films are released this weekend?
Are you ready for a mindset that will never sell? 
一生売れない心の準備はできてるか 「Isshou Urenai Kokoro no Junbi wa Deki Teru ka」
Release Date: February 11th, 2023
Duration: 121 mins.
Director: Toma Hayashi
Writer: N/A
Starring: Shigeki Nase, Iku, Fumitomo Yagi, Yoshio Hasegawa, Kosuke Sato, Shoichiro Higa, Takero Sekijima, Atsushi Shimada,
This played at the Okinawa International Movie Festival last year.
Synopsis: A music documentary that chronicles the life of Shigeki Nasu, leader of the Okinawan band “Yachimun Shigeki Nasu,” through live performances and interviews. Although he has great songwriting abilities, he hasn’t had a hit song but he continues to make music and please his fans. The film presents a powerful live performance at the Shuri Theater, Okinawa’s oldest cinema, which was packed to capacity with an 18-piece big band, exploring the unique appeal of Nasu’s music.
Te no Hira no Pazuru 
手のひらのパズル 「Te no Hira no Pazuru」
Release Date: February 11th, 2023
Duration: 26 mins.
Director: Ayumi Kurokawa
Writer: Ayumi Kurokawa (Screenplay),
Starring: Ayumi Kurokawa, Erika Osanai, Goro Takeishi, Takeshi Nadagi, Masaaki Nakano,
Actor Ayumi Kurokawa directed, wrote, produced, edited, and stars in this short film on the theme of “marriage equality after interviewing LGBTQ people on SNS.
Synopsis: Risa and Takumi have decided to move in together after dating for a year and a half. It seems like marriage is an inevitability but living together makes them realise that they aren’t as close as they thought. Risa’s mind really changes after an incident happens to her friend Mako with whom she had been discussing marriage.
Hatachi no Musuko 
二十歳の息子 「Hatachi no Musuko」
Release Date: February 11th, 2023
Duration: 86 mins.
Director: Ryuichi Shimada
Writer: N/A
Starring: N/A
Synopsis: This is a documentary about the relationship between two men, one, Yuuki, who works for an organisation that supports the independence of children in foster care, the other, Wataru, who has been using that organisations services. Wataru grew up with parents and so, when he was charged with a certain incident as an adult, it looks like he had limited support until Yuuki stepped in and adopted him. They are, in effect, father and son.
Watashitachi wa Doko Kara Kita no ka Nanimono na no ka Soshite Anata wa 
私はどこから来たのか、何者なのか、どこへ行くのか、そしてあなたは… 「Watashitachi wa Doko Kara Kita no ka, Nanimono na no ka, Soshite Anata wa」
Release Date: February 11th, 2023
Duration: 137 mins.
Director: Kazuya Kitao
Writer: Kazuya Kitao (Screenplay),
Starring: Risako Ishikawa, Kyoko Takahashi, Satoshi Nagi, Kunio Komori,
Synopsis: This is a road movie in which a woman tracks down the locations in a batch of photographs left behind by a man who has disappeared. As she follows the trail, dystopian images of Tokyo are discovered and strange people are encountered. Feelings of anxiety, loss, and frustration are evoked and she reasons through them via internal dialogue as she struggles to reclaim something that should have been inside her.