Welcome to the third of four trailer posts.
You can find the first trailer post here, the second here, and the fourth will follow tomorrow.
I’m currently re-watching Masters of Horror. It features works made by directors like John Carpenter (The Thing), Stuart Gordon (Castle Freak), Norio Tsuruta (POV: A Cursed Film), Dario Argento (Deep Red), and Joe Dante (Gremlins) who have sometimes adapted works from writers like Richard Matheson, Koji Suzuki, and H.P. Lovecraft. This is the first time since it was first released that I have chosen to go back and watch the two seasons aaaaand they are mostly solid shorts. The most infamous, Takashi Miike’s Imprint is the one that will always stand out due to people feeling it was too scary. I think I watched it. I definitely have memories of scenes from it and where and when I watched it.
What are the next set of Japanese films to hit cinemas?
Not Born Yesterday 
きのう生まれたわけじゃない 「Kinou Umaretawake Janai」
Release Date: November 11th, 2023
Duration: 86 mins.
Director: Kenji Fukuma
Writer: Kenji Fukuma (Screenplay),
Starring: Kurumi, Kenji Fukuma, Sawa Masaki, Tomori Abe, Fumio Moriya, Kotaro Kaburagi,
Not Born Yesterday is the seventh feature film from Kenji Fukuma. On top of being a director, he was a critic, poet, scholar of English literature and a Professor at Tokyo Metropolitan University. I first encountered his name with A Fairy Tale (2013), a film I stated that I really wanted to watch at the time. That feeling has never left me. Sadly, Fukuma passed away before Not Born Yesterday could be released but audiences will be able to enjoy this feature.
Synopsis: Nanami ix an eighth grader who lives alone with her mother since the disappearance of her father. He was the one who gave her the name Nanami, which means “Seven Seas.” One day, while cutting school and hanging out at the riverside, Nanami encounters a woman named Misaki, who has just lost her husband and the two form an instant connection. Nanami next meets, Terada, a 77-year-old former sailor who lost his wife when he was young. He spends his time with other elderly people who share snack but lately he feels anxiety and sees visions of his wife. Nanami forms a connection with him, too. A small community begins to form around the three as they learn to look at life anew with each different encounter and they discover secrets about themselves.
Dance with the Issue 
電力とわたしたちのダイアローグ 「Denryoku to Watashi-tachi no Daiaro-gu」
Release Date: November 10th, 2023
Duration: 90 mins.
Director: Yasuhiro Tamura
Writer: N/A
Starring: Takuya Yamazaki, Yuuji Ishibashi, Akihide Hirano, Mayumu Minakawa, Daisuke Omiya,
Synopsis: Japan is facing crises. The value of the yen is collapsing while it imports most of its energy and food. Climate change is damaging the environment. Green energy and food self-sufficiency need to be addressed. These issues are addressed in this experimental work which comes in three parts: a documentary part in which people from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), and people involved in renewable energy are interviewed, a dance section choreographed by Daisuke Omiya, who also choreographed the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, in which the audience is encouraged to think about the issues, and a reflection part in which the audience are invited to think and feel in a new way.
Humming 
ハミンンンンンング 「Haminnnnnngu」
Release Date: November 10th, 2023
Duration: 77 mins.
Director: Masahiro Nishioka
Writer: Takashi Masuyama (Screenplay),
Starring: Mai Matsumoto, Tatsuya Terai, Koji Kawazoe, Himari Oka, Kazumi Hayasaka,
Synopsis: This is an ensemble coming-of-age drama based on a stage play of the same name. It follows a troubled woman named Toko who cannot escape her hated mother’s curse and is gradually becoming more like her, both physically and in terms of personality. A guitarist for a band on the verge of a major label debut falls for her and finds himself helpless even as she reveals the darkness in her heart.
Yokkakan FOUR DAYS, TOKIO 
4日間 FOUR DAYS, TOKIO 「Yokkakan FOUR DAYS, TOKIO」
Release Date: November 10th, 2023
Duration: 77 mins.
Director: Kenji Nakanishi
Writer: Kenji Nakanishi (Screenplay),
Starring: Ichika Osaki, Kou Ikeda, Gen Shimada, Takeshi Masago, Masaki Saito,
Synopsis: This film is set in a world beset by infectious diseases and war. The action takes place over four days in the fictional town of Tokio, which is where a young woman named Yuki travels to in search of her fiancé. She gets help from a young man who falls for her and she begins to fall for him.
Where Mother’s Breathe 
1％の風景「1% no Fukei」
Release Date: November 11th, 2023
Duration: 106 mins.
Director: Yuhi Yoshida
Writer: Takashi Masuyama (Screenplay),
Starring: Ai Watanabe, Seiko Kamiya
This documentary was screened at the 2023 edition of the Aichi International Women’s Film Festival.
Synopsis: Currently in Japan, 99% of births take place in hospitals. Director Yuhi Yoshida gave birth to her second child at a midwifery centre and was so impressed by the care she received that she spent four years researching two midwifery centres in Tokyo. She describes the consistent support midwives provide for mother and child throughout pregnancy, during and after childbirth, and into the early days of parenthood through the experiences of four women.
Movie (Choke) 
映画（窒息）「Eiga (Chissoku)」
Release Date: November 11th, 2023
Duration: 108 mins.
Director: Gen Nagao
Writer: Gen Nagao (Screenplay),
Starring: Misa Wada, Daiki Hiba, Takashi Nishina, Yuri Tajima, Minori Terada, Hiroshi Niki,
Synopsis: This black-and-white film takes place in a world without language and so its story is told without dialogue. Humanity has regressed and one such human is a woman who lives in an abandoned building who forages for goods to trade while she fends off bandits. One day, she captures a young man and the two soon fall in love.
Creators Field Short Film Selection vol.2 
クリエイターズ・フィールド ショートフィルム セレクション vol.2「Kurieita-zu Fi-rudo Sho-to Firumu Serekshon vol.1」
Release Date: November 11th, 2023
Duration: N/A
Director: Shinji Imaoka, Naoto Monma, Koki Yamamoto, Ryo Moroe,
Writer: Shinji Imaoka, Naoto Monma, Koki Yamamoto, Naruhiko Hasebe, (Screenplay),
Starring: Naho Yasuda, Yuya Watanabe, Yuzuha Saeki, Rina Shibata, Rina Miura, Ippei Osako, Sayaka, Kaiya Goto,
Synopsis: There will be screenings of films produced under the Creators Field actor training program actor training program of the film company I.S. Field, together with the directors who serve as instructors for the program. The theme of this year’s festival is female heroines.