I’m currently working for a film festival in Japan but I’m still trying to report on Japanese film events in the UK such as this one which is a bit late (thank you to the Japan Foundation for sending the email):
The Japan Foundation is pleased to partner with Modern Culture once again for the event Japan Now. Join us for this very special screening as part of Japan Now, with filmmaker Momoko Ando here in London to introduce the UK Premiere of her film 0.5mm alongside curator and filmmaker Jasper Sharp.
For further details of how to book tickets, please visit: https://www.bl.uk/events/momoko-ando-film-screening
Here’s the trailer:
0.5mm
0.5ミリ 「0.5 miri」
Release Date: November 08th, 2014
Running Time: 196 mins
Director: Momoko Ando
Writer: Momoko Ando (Screenplay)
Starring: Sakura Ando, Junkichi Orimoto, Toshio Sakata, Masahiko Tsugawa, Akira Emoto.
Synopsis: Sawa, a home helper for a middle class family with an elderly infirm grandfather, is forced to stretch her morals to keep her job. As a result, she finds herself broke and out on the street. She survives her first night by striking up an ambiguous friendship with a kindly old man, gaining access to a portion of the immense wealth held by Japan’s aging population. She continues with similar encounters, and while these begin as scams or revenge on rampant sexism, they ultimately become vulnerable intergenerational exchanges.
In 0.5mm, Ando offers a darkly funny take on Japanese society, and a beautifully crafted journey through Japan’s embattled sexual landscape, confronting ageing, class and patriarchy.
Date and Location:
British Library Knowledge Centre
Saturday 25 February, 6:30pm
Tickets: £7
Momoko Ando will also be taking part in a panel discussion earlier in the day:
11.05 – 12.15 Session One: Japan: Outside Influences (Chair: Christopher Harding) Yoko Tawada and Momoko Ando Japan is often seen as an insular country, with little inward migration, and this session features artists from a range of genres whose work takes its cue from ‘internationalism’ and outside influence. Yoko Tawada is one of Japan’s best known novelists in the West, and has lived most of her adult life in Berlin. Memoirs Of A Polar Bear, is her newly published novel. Momoko Ando is a filmmaker whose work includes Kakera: A Piece Of Our Life and 0.5mm. She is currently based in Tokyo.
For more information, check out the British Library’s site.
