Celebration of Japanese Cinema in Smithfield
The Japanese Film Festival (JFF) returns to our city this week for the 15th time, with a plethora of Japan’s best releases.
The festival will take place in the Light House Cinema in Smithfield from April 11th to 18th, as well as at other locations around the country.
“Our main guiding principles are to show the full spectrum of Japanese cinema, and to showcase Japanese culture to Irish people,” Stephen McNeice of ‘access>CINEMA’ said.
The JFF launched in 2008, and aims to bring a diverse and eclectic mix of Japanese cinema to Irish audiences by showcasing the work of critically acclaimed filmmakers from the contemporary Japanese movie industry.
During the one-week festival, people will have the chance to watch 13 movies that cover a variety of themes, genres and topics.
This year’s line-up features exceptional dramas such as “Egoist”, “Ichiko” and “Shadow of Fire” but also comedies such as “Mondays: See You ‘This’ Week” and the wild horror-comedy “Love Will Tear Us Apart.”
“We have a special event in Dublin this year, which is a double bill of films to celebrate the work of the late, great composer Ryuichi Sakamoto,” Stephen McNeice, said.
Anime fans won’t be disappointed. New anime titles like “The Lonely Castle in the Mirror” and “Komada: A Whiskey Family” will also be screened at the festival.
The Japanese Film Festival is a collaboration between the Embassy of Japan in Ireland and ‘access>CINEMA’. This year boasts 48 screenings of 19 films across 11 venues in nine locations in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Dundalk, Sligo, Wexford and Bray from April 9th to 27th.
“The Embassy of Japan in Ireland works together with access>CINEMA on the selection of films, screening locations and PR activities for the annual Japanese Film Festival Ireland,” embassy official Keiko Nakata said.
The most recent statistics provided by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs show that the number of Japanese residents in Ireland is 3,036 as of October 2023.
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