This year will be the twelfth that CAMERA JAPAN has been in operation and it is great that the festival is operating since it offers one of the most comprehensive collections of current Japanese cinema. The 2017 festival dates have already been announced:
September 21st-24th Rotterdam
September 29th – October 01st Amsterdam
In the run-up to the festival, CAMERA JAPAN are screening a grip of films and this week’s titles are interesting. To find out more about each individual screening, click on the titles/links:
夢は牛のお医者さん 「YUME WA USHI NO OISHASAN」
Running Time: 86 mins.
Director: Yoshiaki Tokita
Starring: Tomomi Maruyama, Yui Yokoyama
I wrote about this one way back in 2014 and it’s great to see it appear at a festival. According to the site, this film has a universal message about the importance of pursing one’s dream and never giving up. Judging from the synopsis I wrote back then and adapted now, it’s true. The organisers behind CAMERA JAPAN are bringing in the chef Axel de Vries to make vegan Japanese curry for hungry film-goers. The film, curry, Japanese tea and dessert is only 15 euros but reservations for dinner must be made by sending an e-mail to rsvp@camerajapan.nl. QUICK! HURRY!
My first synopsis: AKB48 Team A Captain Yui Yokoyama narrates the story of a woman named Tomomi who who met 3 calves in her elementary school 26 years ago (at the time this was written, it was 2014) in a small and rural area in Niigata Prefecture and was inspired to follow her dream of becoming a vet. Tomomi and her friends took care of them and the children and animals grew to be just like good friends. Tomomi in particular cared for the calves and wanted to be a veterinarian for cattle when she grew up. Tomomi pursued her dream and years later, Tomomi earned her degree, a doctorate of veterinary medicine and became a deeply trusted and highly respected vet in the place she grew up in. Audiences will witness this story of someone who never gave up on her dreams!
Also being screened this week, on Tuesday April 4th and Friday April 7th is:
ケンとカズ 「Ken to Kazu」
Running Time: 98 mins.
Director: Hiroshi Shoji
Writer: Hiroshi Shoji (Screenplay),
Starring: Shinsuke Kato, Katsuya Maiguma, Kisetsu Fujiwara, Shuna Iijima, Haruki Takano
I did research for this for Nippon Connection 2016 so here it is:
Search for this drama and you will find old entries dating back to 2011 and that is because the director Shoji Hiroshi made a short film of the same name and it travelled to different film festivals. From that short came this feature about two friends who deal in drugs. This has been picked up by Third Window Films for world sales and release in the UK.
Synopsis from JFDB: Ken (Kato Shinsuke) and Kazu (Maiguma Katsuya) are partners in crime who use a car repair shop as their front for dealing stimulants. Ken tries to make a clean break after his girlfriend Saki (Iijima Shuna) gets pregnant, but Kazu has a secret…
