Welcome to the third and final trailer post of the week.
You can find part one here and part two here.
This week has been all about festivals, in terms of what I’ve written about. Cannes 2024 kicked off and I posted about the Asian film presence there a couple of weeks back. Nippon Connection 2024 starts in a couple of week and I gave a bit of a fuller look at the feature films that have been programmed.
I hope to be covering Nippon Connection so stay tuned. In the meantime, I have some more interviews and reviews from Osaka Asian Film Festival 2024 to release.
What are the rest of the films released this weekend?
There will be a selection of films made by Haruna Tanaka screened at Cinema Rosa in Ikebukuro. I have written about each of them in different capacities. The first two shorts by filmmaker Haruna Tanaka were previously screened at the same cinema. Trailer for both below:
Lifelike 
いきうつし 「Ikiutsushi」
Release Date: June 25th 2021
Duration: 30 mins.
Director: Haruna Tanaka
Writer: Haruna Tanaka (Script),
Starring: Keiko Oka, Chihiro Kasahara,
Synopsis from the Filmmaker: Kamehachi, a jobless carver of Buddhist statues, earns his living by making lifelike figures for freak shows. A member of a local well-to-do family requests Kamehachi to make a doll of his fatally ill daughter Tsubaki to copy her mortal beauty as is.
Nukegara 
ぬけがら 「Nukegara」
Release Date: June 25th 2021
Duration: 14 mins.
Director: Haruna Tanaka
Writer: Haruna Tanaka (Script),
Starring: Yo Hasegawa, Ippei Tanaka, Keigo Oka, Soichiro Nakajima,
This film has strong visuals that are quit haunting – traditional buildings, rainy season atmosphere.
Synopsis: One morning, a woman named Hibari wakes up as if someone was next to her and finds the shedded skin of a snake in the garden. Her husband, Seiji, doesn’t think too deeply about this but Hibari is profoundly moved. We learn that it has been six months since her son Tatsumi died in a traffic accident and the couple are struggling to live with their loss. When Hibari visits the site of her son’s accident, one rainy day, she takes his umbrella. When meets a man sheltering from the rain, Hibari lends him Tatsumi’s umbrella. A memory of seeing the mother and son together is passed on also…
The next two I wrote about as part of the 2023 edition of the Osaka Asian Film Festival. Here is a review for both.
甘露 「Kanro」
Release Date: 2023
Duration: 12 mins.
Director: Haruna Tanaka
Writer: Haruna Tanaka (Screenplay),
Starring: Keigo Oka, Ippei Tanaka,
Synopsis: Two brothers reunite for the first time since their grandfather’s funeral in the old man’s candy store. There is a distance between them but as they sit together in the empty space, they reminisce about the past and the meaning of kanro jelly, a near tasteless treat with a supernatural origin to its name. Then, the older brother receives an unexpected call. With Kanro, Tanaka and her skilled performers offer a one-cut film that is simple on its surface but unearths an affectionate family history and a surprise ending that opens the door to the mysteries of life.
Release Date: 2023
Duration: 7 mins.
Director: Haruna Tanaka
Writer: Haruna Tanaka (Screenplay),
Starring: Nishiki Morikawa, Saya Imajo, Nami Nishida,
Synopsis: One shot, one take. Three members of a high school drama club discuss their adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s “The Happy Prince.” As they read through the script, they wonder about the meaning of the word happiness and come to their own conclusions. In this light-hearted short, the fun and bubbly performances of the cast and the active soundscape create a warmhearted slice of life that is sure to leave audiences with a smile.
This film is her latest one:
Kofukuna Sochi 
幸福な装置 「Kofukuna Sochi」
Release Date: May 18th, 2024
Duration: 25 mins.
Director: Haruna Tanaka
Writer: Haruna Tanaka (Screenplay),
Starring: Yutaka Hoshino, Go Okakei, Misato Shimizu,
Website Twitter: @iki_nuke
The play the three schoolgirls discuss at the centre of Shall We Love You?” was Oscar Wilde’s “The Happy Prince.” Tanaka takes it again as inspiration for this, her latest short film.
Synopsis: An AI on a barren planet encounters “Tsubame,” another AI, but one built for spying. This original AI begins to feel something akin to its heart but after Tsubame leaves, he is left alone again and can only think about the past. Then, a capsule containing a living creature falls down to the planet’s surface.
Chawan ya no Hanashi Shihyaku-nen no Tabibito 
ちゃわんやのはなし 四百年の旅人 「Chawan ya no Hanashi Shihyaku-nen no Tabibito」
Release Date: May 18th, 2024
Duration: 117 mins.
Director: Daika Matsukura
Writer: N/A
Starring: Jun Chinka, Shinpei Sakakura, Jin Watari, Kaoru Kobayashi (Narrator),
Synopsis: This documentary tracks the history of ceramic culture, ranging from Korean potters who were taken to Japan under the reign of Toyotomi Hideyoshi during his second invasion of Korea. It is covered through the works of particular families who can trace their heritage back to the Korean peninsula.
Tokyo Landmarks 
東京ランドマーク 「Toukyou Randoma-ku」
Release Date: May 18th, 2024
Duration: 79 mins.
Director: Tomoaki Hayashi
Writer: Tomoaki Hayashi (Screenplay),
Starring: Kisetsu Fujiwara, Shinji Yoshiyama, Seina Suzuki, Kenji Masaki, Naoko Koda,
Website Twitter: @Tokyo_Landmark
This is the first feature project by Engawa Films Project and tells the story of young people shaken out of their doldrums by a certain event.
Synopsis: Two guys, Take and Minoru, decide to take care of a runaway girl who shacks up with them.