liveaction | Japan Film Festival of San Francisco

Kurara: The Dazzling life of Hokusai’s Daughter

★ Oct.6 Sat @ 12:00 PM 【North American Premiere】

2017| 73 min | with English Subtitles
Presented by NHK WORLD-Japan

Free Admission!!!* LIFE Magazine calls Japan’s Edo era master painter Katsushika Hokusai one of 100 people who left the most important achievements of the past millennium. Assisting him behind the scenes however was a woman: his daughter, O-Ei. Since her childhood, O-Ei was captivated by painting. When she returns to the family home after her divorce, she began assisting her father. O-Ei was by his side as he completed his iconic “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji” series. When Hokusai grew too old to wield his brush freely, O-Ei became his “brush” and painted on his behalf. It was during this time that she began to cultivate a strong fascination with colors as she finally developed her own painting style.
* First come first served. Please make sure to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the screening to secure your seat.

Before We Vanish

★ Sept.30 Sun @ 4:30PM

2017 | 129 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

J-horror master Kiyoshi Kurosawa brings the Japanese popular theatrical play Before We Vanish to life in this feature film adaptation.

Narumi (Masami Nagasawa) is bewildered by the behavior of her husband Shinji (Ryuhei Matsuda), who disappeared for a few days and has come back a changed person. Meanwhile, a family is brutally murdered in their neighborhood. Journalist Sakurai (Hiroki Hasegawa) meets a young man named Amano (Mahiro Takasugi) while investigating the story and goes on a search for high school girl Tachibana Akira (Yuri Tsunematsu), who holds the key to explaining the murders.

Blank 13

★ Sept.30 Sun @ 12:00PM 【San Francisco Premiere】

2017 | 70 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Takumi Saito

Blank 13 is actor Takumi Saito’s feature-film directorial debut and has won multiple awards including the Best Director in the Asian New Talent Awards at the 20th Shanghai International Film Festival.

Family members learn the whereabouts of their father (Lily Franky) who vanished without a trace 13 years ago. However, he dies of cancer three months later, leaving Koji (Issei Takahashi) and his family members without closure. Koji and his family think they can’t reclaim the lost 13 years, but the stories told about their father by mourners at the funeral reveal the truth that was unknown to the family.