A new batch of Japanese indie films have been programmed and made available for streaming over at the Japanese Film Festival+ website. Once again, they have teamed up with mini theatres (small independent cinemas) across Japan and also film experts to programme 12 indie films for people to stream online for free.
Already in full swing – and available until October 31st, the films are available to many countries outside of Japan and they come with a plethora of background information about the filmmakers and the theatres that did the selecting as they reveal something specific to regional culture.
This time, there are ten different mini theatres involved but just like last time, there is ample background on each of the titles and the program is going to be complemented by interview videos with directors and actors, and interview articles with managers of the mini-theatres to give you more of an insight into the films. If you click on the links for the films below, you can read information already.
There are dramas and documentaries. I’ve only seen a few of them but can highly recommend them (links to reviews and an interview included) while the others I have heard good things about.
How can one stream the films? Just go to the website and register online by clicking on the ‘Watch for Free’ button to jump to the streaming page and sign up to create an account via your email address.
Not all of the films are available in every region, so check each page to see if you can watch them.
Lastly for this introduction, there’s the opportunity to sign up for a newsletter and offer feedback and so you can drop a message to give your thoughts and thanks for the free films. Feedback always helps and it looks like the mini theatre managers want to hear from viewers!
ミューズは溺れない 「Myu-zu wa Oborenai」
Release Date: September 30th, 2022
Duration: 82 mins.
Director: Nozomi Asao
Writer: Nozomi Asao (Script),
Starring: Miku Uehara, Kogarashi Wakasugi, Kokoro Morita, Yota Kawase, Hiroko Shinkai,
This is a coming-of-age film that won the Grand Prix at both the 22nd TAMA NEW WAVE and the 15th Tanabe-Benkei Film Festival.
Synopsis: Sakuko, a member of her high school’s art club, gets so into sketching a ship that she takes a tumble into the sea. Saibara, a fellow member of the art club, witnesses the accident and draws a picture of it. This picture wins a prize at a contest and attracts a lot of attention. In an interview with a newspaper reporter, Saibara announces that he will use Sakuko as the model for his next work and this drives Sakuko to give up her painting career and to try being creative in other ways. Things don’t pan out and this forces Sakuko to confront Saibara in the art room and ask why he chose her to be his model.
典座 TENZO 「Tenzo TENZO」
Release Date: October 04th, 2019
Duration: 62 mins.
Director: Katsuya Tomita
Writer: Katsuya Tomita, Toranosuke Aizawa (Screenplay/Original Creator), Shin Kibayashi (Novel)
Starring: Chiken Kawaguchi, Shuntou Aoyama, Shinko Kondo, Ryugyo Kurashima,
Directed by Katsuya Tomita (Bangkok Nights), he makes documentary and fiction combine as we get a look at where Buddhism fits in modern Japan as two priests react to the 3/11 disaster.
Synopsis: Chiken and Ryugyo are both Buddhist monks and apply their vocation in different ways with Chiken manning a suicide helpline, teaching yoga and healthy eating in his temple in Yamanashi while in Fukushima, Ryugyo – whose temple was wrecked by the tsunami – lives in a portacabin and works on construction sites in an effort to repair communities.
きみの鳥はうたえる 「Kimi no tori wa utaeru」
Release Date: September 01st, 2018
Duration: 119 mins.
Director: Sho Miyake
Writer: Sho Miyake (Screenplay), Yasushi Sato (Novel)
Starring: Shota Sometani, Tasuku Emoto, Shizuka Ishibashi, Makiko Watanabe, Ai Yamamoto,
A film based on a novel by Yasushi Sato is usually something to take notice of after a series of good to great adaptations. Nobuhiro Yamashita’s Over the Fence is good, while Sketches of Kaitan City by director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, and Mipo Oh’s The Light Shines Only There are great. The three are set in the author’s native city of Hakodate in the north of Japan but this film was originally set in Tokyo before being relocated to Hakodate. There’s a great cast with Shota Sometani (Himizu), Shizuka Ishibashi (The Tokyo Night Sky Is Always the Densest Shade of Blue), and Tasuku Emoto (Dynamite Graffiti). Here is my review.
Synopsis: The unnamed protagonist (Tasuku Emoto), simply referred to in the credits as “Boku” is a slacker who works at a bookstore while sharing an apartment with his unemployed friend, Shizuo (Shota Sometani). “Boku” begins dating his co-worker Sachiko (Shizuka Ishibashi) and she gets roped into his hang-about life, but Shizuo soon gets involved and a love triangle develops…
左様なら今晩は 「Sayonara Konbanwa」
Release Date: November 11th, 2022
Duration: 98 mins.
Director: Natsuki Takahashi
Writer: Natsuki Takahashi, Mayu Akiyama (Script), Chugaku Yamamoto (Original Story),
Starring: Shiori Kubo, Riku Hagiwara, Rina Ono, Riko Nagase, Hiroko Nakajima, Shohei Uno,
Synopsis: Yohei is dumped by his girlfriend but a female ghost named Aisuke appears, so it’s not all bad. It turns out that Aisuke haunts his home and she has never experienced love so she wants to find out more from Yohei. At first, he is reluctant but he soon begins to feel comfortable spending time with her.
花筐 「Hanagatami」
Running Time: 169 mins.
Release Date: December 16th, 2017
Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi
Writer: Nobuhiko Obayashi, Chiho Katsura(Screenplay),
Starring: Shunsuke Kubozuka, Shinnosuke Mitsushima, Keishi Nagatsuka, Tokio Emoto, Mugi Kadowaki, Yuriko Oo, Tetsuya Takeda, Takako Tokiwa, Hirona Yamazaki,
Hanagatami is the latest film from veteran director Nobuhiko Obayashi, probably best known in the West for his 70s horror-musical House. This was at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2017 where it got a myriad of reviews praising Obayashi’s vision in bringing a unique (Japan Times, for example) film an anti-war message as well as its exuberant colourful celebration of youth to the screen. Here’s my review.
Synopsis: It is the spring of 1941 and the setting is Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture. 17-year-old Toshihiko Sakakiyama (Shunsuke Kubozuka), who has just returned from Amsterdam where his parents are living, to live with his wealthy aunt Keiko (Takako Tokiwa) and attend the local boys’ high school. He lives life to the full with dinner parties and picnics, frolicking in the country and partying in the city. He does this with a close group of friends including a cousin named Mina who suffers from lung disease but the war is drawing closer and their lives will be changed forever…
ばちらぬん 「Bachiranun」
Release Date: May 07th, 2022
Duration: 61 mins.
Director: Aika Higashimori
Writer: Aika Higashimori (Script),
Starring: Aika Higashimori, Kenta Ishida, Nanami Sasaki, Sakura Yamamoto,
Aika Higashimori is a new directing talent from Okinawa Prefecture and she used the culture of her home island of Yonaguni in this, her directorial debut which won the Grand Prix at the 43rd Pia Film Festival PFF Awards in 2021 and was later screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Synopsis: Documentary footage of daily life and festivals on Yonaguni Island is mixed with drama to catch life, history, culture, and people on the remote island.
テクノブラザーズ 「Tekuno Buraza-zu」
Duration: 96 mins.
Director: Hirobumi Watanabe
Writer: Hirobumi Watanabe (Screenplay),
Starring: Hirobumi Watanabe, Yuji Watanabe, Takanori Kurosagi, Asuna Yanagi, Akiko Hisatsugi, Riko Hisatsugu, Katsumi Ino, Kiyomine Iso, Natsuki Ito, Kodo Toda, Yu Imamura, Ryoko Ino,
Hirobumi Watanabe is a one-man movie-making machine and he has carved out a unique oeuvre of films that are worth watching. I’m excited about this one – I have an autograph back from his first film.
Synopsis: Hirobumi Watanabe (And the Mud Ship Sails Away, Cry) returns with a musical comedy that brings together a familiar group of actors to their native Tochigi Prefecture as a bunch of Kraftwerk-like musicians seek to hit the big time in Tokyo. Under the command of their tough manager, Himuro, they embark on a road trip to get a record deal.
光を追いかけて 「Hikari wo Oikakete」
Release Date: October 01st, 2021
Duration: 104 mins.
Director: Yoichi Narita
Writer: Yoichi Narita, Yu Sakudo (Script),
Starring: Tsubasa Nakagawa, Itsuki Nagasawa, Rina Ikoma, Toshiro Yanagiba, Taro Suruga,
Synopsis: Akira is a shy teenager who has arrived in a village in Akita, a newcomer in his father’s hometown following his old man’s acrimonious divorce. Akira’s time at junior high is spent sketching but a series of sights await him: first are mysterious green lights in the sky, the second is Maki, a classmate who has never attended class, and the third is a crop circle. These sights cause an uproar in town but it forges a bond between Maki and, eventually, the town…
盆唄 「Bon Uta」
Running Time: 134 mins.
Release Date: February 15th, 2019
Director: Yuji Nakae
Writer: N/A
Voices: Miko Yoki, Akira Emoto, Jun Murakami, Soko Wada, Rina Sakuraba, Ryota Koshiba,
Synopsis: This documentary looks at the links between Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture and Nikkei in Hawaii, two places tied by “Bon no Uta”. It is a link that stretches back over 100 years when bon dancers were among those who moved from Fukushima to Hawaii and their descendants carry on with the tradition, still performing the dances and music. This was shot over three years and takes in people in both Hawaii and Japan as well as the Fukushima crisis.
わたしの見ている世界が全て 「Watashi no Miteiru Sekai ga Subete」
Release Date: March 31st, 2023
Duration: 82 mins.
Director: Keitaro Sakon
Writer: Keitaro Sakon, Harumi Uraki (Screenplay),
Starring: Kokoro Morita, Eriko Nakamura, Haya Nakazaki, Yuya Matsuura, Yota Kawase,
A solid drama from Keitaro Sakon of a high-achieving gal returning home to push her family to sell their home/business only for relationships to fall apart and reform in unexpected ways.
Synopsis: Haruka is a high-achiever in the human resources world and had left her family behind but when she is forced to quit her job due to power harassment, she returns home after her mother’s death, she ends up pestering her siblings to sell of property so she can set up her own business. Haruka embarks on her “Family Independence Plan” to get them out of her parents’ house…
おーい！どんちゃん 「O-i! Donchan」
Release Date: November 25th, 2021
Duration: 157 mins.
Director: Shuichi Okita
Writer: Shuichi Okita (Screenplay),
Starring: Don-chan, Tappei Sakaguchi, Hirota Otsuka, Ryuta Endo, Hiroaki Morooka, Junko Miyabe,
I had no idea that this existed despite it being the work of Shuichi Okita, a guy whose career I’ve been aware of since The Woodsman and the Rain (2012) and A Story of Yonosuke (2013), and, more recently, The Fish Tale (2022) – the latter of which has earned exceptional praise via word of mouth.
According to the JFF+ page, “The movie is a self-produced project featuring OKITA and his actor friends, documenting the life of his own daughter from 6 months to 3 and a half years old. Shot entirely with a handheld camera, the film captures the heartwarming moments of Don-chan’s growth and the challenges faced by the three men in nurturing her.”
Synopsis: Three struggling actors Michio, Gunji, and Enoken, who share a house together, are left in charge of a baby girl who was placed in their care by Michio’s ex-girlfriend. They name her “Don-chan” and take on parenting duties.
An Artisan’s Legacy, Tsunekazu Nishioka
鬼に訊け 
宮大工 西岡常一の遺言 「Oni ni kike: Miyadaiku Nishioka Tsunekazu no Yuigon」
Release Date: February 04th, 2012
Duration: 88 mins.
Director: Yuji Yamazaki
Writer: N/A
Starring: Tsunekazu Nishioka, Renji Ishibashi (Narration),
This documentary comes from veteran filmmaker Yuji Yamazaki whose career has included working at Iwanami Productions and Oshima Productions before he established a video production company in Osaka.
Synopsis: This is a documentary about Tsunekazu Nishioka, a carpenter known as a miyadaiku – one who works on the construction and restoration of shrines and temples. He worked on the reconstruction of the three-tier pagoda of Horinji and the Kondo and the West Pagoda of Yakushiji, amongst other valuable architectural treasures. A master carpenter, he passed down a wealth of knowledge in architecture, religious studies, and history, as well as advanced technical expertise and the film captures him working.