The Edinburgh International Film Festival takes place from the 18th to the 23rd of August and there is one Japanese film there – courtesy of Anime Limited – and an international co-production between Japan and America.
Release Date: December 03rd, 2022
Duration: 124 mins
Director: Takehiko Inoue
Writer: Takehiko Inoue (Screenplay/Original Creator)
Starring: Jun Kasama (Hisashi Mitsui), Kenta Miyake (Takenori Akagi), Shinichiro Kamio (Kaede Rukawa), Shugo Nakamura (Ryota Miyagi), Subaru Kimura (Hanamichi Sakuragi),
Animation Production: Dandelion Animation Studio, Toei Animation
This is a new animated film based on the same-named classic basketball manga which was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1990 to 1996. It has been directed and written by the original author, Takehiko Inoue, and it has become a smash-hit in Japan and Asia and also the rest of the world – the film won the Axis: Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation for best animated feature film at this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival.
Synopsis: We follow a new player on Shohoku High School’s basketball team, Ryota Sakuragi. He is a delinquent with a long history of getting dumped by girls but he finds himself shaping up into a player to respect alongside his teammates as they play in their biggest match of the season against the mighty Sanno Industry team.
東京ポップ 「Toukyou Poppu」
Release Date: April 15th, 1988
Duration: 99 mins.
Director: Fran Rubel Kuzui
Writer: Fran Rubel Kuzui, Lynn Grossman (Screenplay),
Starring: Carrie Hamilton, Yutaka Tadokoro, Hiroshi Kobayashi, Hiroshi Sugita, Satoshi Kanai, Rome Kanda, Yoshiki and X Japan, Gina Belafonte,
This looks like a 4K restoration of a fun film that stars real-life rockers like Yutaka Tadokoro, who fronted the 1980s rock group Red Warriors, who appear in the film as themselves, and Yoshiki and X Japan (according to Wikipedia).
Writer-director Fran Rubel Kuzui and producer Kaz Kuzui will be at the screening to present their film.
Synopsis: Wendy Reed is a punk singer from New York but she sees success happening in Tokyo, which is where she meets Hiro, the singer of a struggling rock band based just outside the city. Cultures clash as the two hit it off and make sweet music together.
Here’s coverage of past Edinburgh International Film Festivals:
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2013
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2014
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2015
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2016
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2017
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2018