Films 2019


*** THIS EVENT HAS ENDED. ***


 

【 Oct 4 Fri 】

Every Day a Good Day
Oct 4 Fri @ 7:15 PM 【San Francisco Premiere】
2018 | 100 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Tatsushi Omori

Every day a good day is a Zen expression which originated in China that means: By living every day as it comes, you make each day fresh and goodRead More
 

 

【 Oct 5 Sat 】

I Go Gaga, My Dear
Oct 5 Sat @ 12:00 PM 【San Francisco Premiere】
2018 | 102 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Naoko Nobutomo

★ Special appearance by Director Naoko Nobutomo!
This heart-warming documentary was critically acclaimed as one of the best films from Japan in 2018. It first opened in one local theater… Read More
 

 

3ft Ball & Souls
Oct 5 Sat @ 3:00 PM 【San Francisco Premiere】
2017 | 93 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Yoshio Kato

The members of an online suicide club decide to end their lives together. Every time they intend, however, they find themselves back in time…. Read More

 

Miracle Children
Oct 5 Sat @ 5:00 PM 【International Premiere】
2017| 80 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Hidetaka Inazuka

This award-winning documentary follows the incredible 10 years of two families who have children with the very rare, inherited disorder called “AADC Deficiency”… Read More

 
【 Oct 6 Sun 】

journey through genders

A Journey through Genders
Oct 6 Sun @ 12:00 PM 【San Francisco Premiere】
2019 | 49 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Miyuki Tokoi

★Special Appearance by Director Miyuki Tokoi★
24-year-old Takamasa Kobayashi has been trying to find his true gender since childhood. Born as a girl, he was one of the first students in Japan to persuade a junior high school to accept a female as a boy… Read More

 

WE ARE LITTLE ZOMBIES
Oct 6 Sun @ 2:30 PM 【San Francisco Premiere】
2019 | 120 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Makoto Nagahisa

Director Makoto Nagahisa made his feature-length directorial debut bursting with hyper pop style and unrestrained imagination… Read More

 

fortune in disguise

Fortune in Disguise – My Cancer and Tokyo Tower
Oct 6 Sun @ 5:00 PM
2009 | 46 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Naoko Nobutomo

★ Special Appearance by Director Naoko Nobutomo
This award-winning documentary was made as a TV program based on director Nobutomo’s incredible life experiences—10 years prior… Read More

 
【 Oct 7 Mon 】

CENCOROLL CONNECT
Oct 7 Mon @ 7:15 PM 
2019 | 74min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Atsuya Uki

A huge creature shows up on top of a building of an ordinary city prompting the Defense Forces to go into action. Yuki, a brave-hearted and… Read More

 
【 Oct 8 Tue 】

DigiCon6 ASIA Awards: The Wonders of Animation
Oct 8 Tue @ 7:15 PM 
2018-19 | 83 min | with English Subtitles

JFFSF and DigiCon6 collaborate to bring 13 award-winning animation shorts to showcase the splendors of imagination colorfully expressed… Read More

 
【 Oct 9 Wed 】

Utano☆Princesama Maji LOVE Kingdom
Oct 9 Wed @ 7:15 PM [San Francisco Premiere]
2019 | 84min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Jouji Furuta, Tomoka Nagaoka

Utano☆Princesama Maji LOVE Kingdom brings the idols of ST☆RISH, QUARTET NIGHT and HE☆VENS to the stage, where UtaPri fans will witness their favorite… Read More

 
【 Oct 10 Thurs 】

Ryuichi Sakamoto: async at the Park Avenue Armory
Oct 10 Thurs @ 7:15 PM 
2018 | 65 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Stephen Nomura Schible

Ryuichi Sakamoto: async at the Park Avenue Armory is a live performance film captured… Read More

 
【 Oct 11 Fri 】

Cinema Kabuki:
KAGOTSURUBE, The Haunted Sword

Oct 11 Fri @ 7:15 PM 【San Francisco Premiere】
2012 | 113 min | with English Subtitles | Kanzaburo Nakamura and Tamasaburo Bando

On the main street of the Yoshiwara pleasure district, the top courtesan Yatsuhashi makes a luxurious… Read More

 
【 Oct 12 Sat 】

vanished dream

A Vanished Dream:
Wartime Story of My Japanese Grandfather

Oct 12 Sat @ 12:00 PM 【Free Admission】
2019 | 49 min | with English Subtitles | Presented by NHK World

To American photojournalist Regina Boone, her paternal grandfather was an enigma. He was a hard-working Japanese immigrant… Read More

 

JESUS
Oct 12 Sat @ 1:15 PM 【San Francisco Premiere】
2019 | 78 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Hiroshi Okuyama

This film is 22-year-old director Hiroshi Okuyama’s first feature-length film that was also written, shot, and edited by him…. Read More

 

short shorts

Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia: New Directors 2019
Oct 12 Sat @ 3:10 PM [San Francisco Premiere]
2018-19 | 82 min | with English Subtitles

Our popular collaboration with Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia is back to exclusively premiere a collection of award-winning short films… Read More

 

LIFE IS FRUITY
Oct 12 Sat @ 4:50 PM 【San Francisco Premiere】
2017 | 91 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Kenshi Fushihara | Presented by NHK World

Director Fushihara’s delicate and heartwarming documentary follows the life of 90-year-old architect Shuichi Tsubata and his 87-year-old wife, Hideko… Read More

 

The Miracle of Crybaby Shottan
Oct 12 Sat @ 6:40 PM 【San Francisco Premiere】
2018| 127 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Toshiaki Toyoda

This film is based on the autobiography of Shoji Segawa, a unique shogi (Japanese chess) player who left his daytime job and turned pro at the age of thirty-five… Read More

 
【 Oct 13 Sun 】

fisherman

The Fisherman and the Forest
Oct 13 Sun @ 12:00 PM  [Free Admission]
2018 | 49 min | with English Subtitles | Presented by NHK World

On March 11, 2011, a huge tsunami generated by the Great East Japan Earthquake struck Japan’s northeastern coast, including Kesennuma in Miyagi… Read More

 

BLUE HOUR
Oct 13 Sun @ 1:20 PM 【San Francisco Premiere】
2019 | 92 min | with English Subtitles | Directors: Yuko Hakoda

Director Yuko HAKOTA makes her feature film debut in BLUE HOUR, where HAKOTA uniquely and masterfully gouges raw emotion mixed with reality and fantasy as she depicts natural scenery and memory… Read More

 

And Your Bird Can Sing
Oct 13 Sun @ 3:20PM
2018 | 106 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Sho Miyake

Directed by the up-and-coming Sho Miyake, this film is an adaptation of the solitary author Sato Yasushi’s coming-of-age novel with the setting moved from Tokyo to Hakodate. Young talented actors including… Read More

 

A Banana? At This Time of Night?
Oct 13 Sun @ 5:30 PM 【San Francisco Premiere】
2018 | 120 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Tetsu Maeda

Based on a non-fiction masterpiece written by author Watanabe Kazufumi. Thirty-four-year-old Shikano Yasuaki can only move his neck and hands… Read More

 


★ Hours of Box Office* at NEW PEOPLE during film festival:
Weekdays Oct 4, Oct 7 – 11 (6:00pm-8:00pm)
Weekends Oct 5, 6, 12, 13 (11:00am-8:00pm)

*Will Call counter and box office will be located at the NEW PEOPLE entrance on the 1st floor.
Pick up your tickets at Will Call at the entrance of NEW PEOPLE during the festival week. Bring your confirmation e-ticket with barcode and a valid photo I.D.

No refunds or exchange under any circumstances.
Lost or stolen tickets or passes will not be replaced.