jffsf2018 | Japan Film Festival of San Francisco

★ 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.

Magic Kimono

★ Sept.30 Sun @ 1:40PM 【North American Premiere】
★ Special Appearance by Actress, Kaori Momoi!

2017 | 99 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Maris Martinsons
Supported by Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco

Co-produced in Japan and the Republic of Latvia, the unusual reunion between a woman who has withdrawn into herself and her husband is depicted in this drama helmed by Latvian up-and-coming director Maris Martinsons. It stars Kaori Momoi (Hee, Ghost in the Shell) and Issey Ogata (Silence).

Keiko (Kaori Momoi), who lost everything in the Great Hanshin Earthquake, has lived a lonely life alone for the past 20 years. She reluctantly takes part in a kimono show in the Latvian capital of Riga. Backstage during the show, she is confronted by a man who appears to be her husband (Ogata) who had been reported missing after the earthquake.
Actress Kaori Momoi will come back again at NEW PEOPLE Cinema for the premiere screening and Q&A! Don’t miss it!
★ About Kaori Momoi

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.

namie amuro Final Tour 2018 – Finally – at Tokyo Dome (Final Performance)

★ Sept.29 Sat @ 7:00 PM 【North American Premiere】

namie amuro Final Tour 2018 – Finally – at Tokyo Dome (Final Performance)
2018 | 163 min | Japanese language only

J-POP living legend, Namie Amuro’s final live tour “Finally” will be revealed on the big screen exclusively at JFFSF! Since she shocked the world by announcing her retirement from the industry last year, her much anticipated final tours became one of the biggest events ever in Japan. Giving her fans the pleasure of picking her setlist (comprised of 24 songs voted on by fans, plus 6 new songs), this two and a half hour long concert at Tokyo Dome proves that she is truly the “Queen of J-POP” and will be so forever. Don’t miss the rare chance to witness her evergreen performance that will remain in our memory for a long long time! We will miss Amuro-chan greatly!
(This is a screening of pre-recorded live concert, not live performance or live streaming)

Set list
01_ Hero
02_ Hide & Seek
03_ Do Me More
04_ Mint
05_ Baby Don’t Cry
06_ GIRL TALK
07_ NEW LOOK
08_ WHAT A FEELING
09_ Showtime
10_ Just You and I
11_ Break It
12_ Say the word
13_ Love Story
14_ SWEET 19 BLUES
15_ TRY ME ～私を信じて～
16_ 太陽のSEASON
17_ You’re my sunshine
18_ Get Myself Back
19_ a walk in the park
20_ Don’t wanna cry
21_ NEVER END
22_ CAN YOU CELEBRATE?
23_ Body Feels EXIT
24_ Chase the Chance
25_ Fighter
26_ In Two
27_ Do It For Love
28_ Hope (Multiangle – NAMIE AMURO×ONE PIECE「Hope」Original Live Movie)
29_ Finally
30_ How do you feel now? (Multiangle – 「How do you feel now?」Original Live Movie)

© 2018 stella 88 inc.

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Cinema Kabuki: The Tale of Bunshichi (Ninjobanashi Bunshichi Mottoi)

★ Sept.29 Sat @ 4:50 PM 【San Francisco Premiere】

2008| 87 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Yoji Yamada

Kanzaburo Nakamura XVIII, Japan’s Kabuki legend known for breaking from tradition to bring the stylized art form to younger generations and audiences overseas, teams up again with director Yoji Yamada to bring one of the most popular but difficult kabuki plays to the big screen.

Chobei, a skillful plasterer, blithely gambles his family into poverty. To feed the family, his daughter Ohisa turns to prostitution. Touched by Ohisa’s selfless love for her parents, a Madame arranges a loan for Chobei. On the way home, Chobei gave his money to save a young man who, having lost a large sum that belongs to his master, is about to commit suicide. Surely Chobei has gambled away the family’s last chance.

© SHOCHIKU Co.,Ltd.

A Tale of Love and Honor: Life in Gion

★ Sept.29 Sat @ 3:30 PM
★ FREE ADMISSON

2017 | 49 min | with English Subtitles | Presented and supported by NHK WORLD-Japan

Within Japan, there’s a place that seems to transport visitors to another world: Gion, in Kyoto. When night falls in this historic district, nearly 100 geiko, or traditional entertainers, make their way to teahouses to perform classical arts, such as music and dance, for carefully selected guests. Kimi Ota, 77, is the proprietress of a 200-year-old teahouse. Throughout its history, it has always been run by a woman. The proprietress cannot marry and must have a daughter who can someday take over. Peer behind the curtain into the unique and alluring world of Kyoto’s teahouses.

*First come first served. Please make sure to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the screening to secure your seat.

Ryuichi Sakamoto : CODA

★ Oct.4 Thur @ 7:15 PM

2017 | 102 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Stephen Nomura Schible

One of the most important artists of our era, Ryuichi Sakamoto has had a prolific career spanning over four decades. From techno-pop stardom to Oscar-winning film composer, the evolution of his music has coincided with his life journeys. Following Fukushima, Sakamoto became an iconic figure in Japan’s social movement against nuclear power. As Sakamoto returns to music following a cancer diagnosis, his haunting awareness of the ephemerality of life gives birth to a resounding new masterpiece. RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: CODA is an intimate portrait of both the artist and the man.

A Silent Voice: The Movie

★ Oct.3 Wed @ 7:15 PM

2016 | 129 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Naoko Yamada

The animated adaptation of Yoshitoki Oima’s multi-award winning comic about the association between a hearing-impaired girl and the toughest boy at school. It is directed by Naoko Yamada, whose TAMAKO Love Story won the New Face Award at the 2014 Japan Media Arts Festival’s Animation Division.

Shoya Ishida (voice: Miyu Irino), the leader of a group of mischievous elementary schoolboys, is ostracized by those around him on account of an incident involving transfer student Shoko Nishimiya (voice: Saori Hayami). Five years later, Shoya, now an emotionally hardened high schooler, once again pays Shoko a visit.

© Yoshitoki Oima, KODANSHA/A SILENT VOICE The Movie Production Committee. All Rights Reserved. Based on the manga A SILENT VOICE” by Yoshitoki Oima originally serialized in the weekly SHONEN MAGAZINE published by KODANSHA Ltd.

Liz and the Blue Bird

★ Sept.28 Fri @ 7:15 PM 【San Francisco Premiere】

2018 | 90 min | with English Subtitles | Directed by Naoko Yamada

Liz and the Blue Bird is the latest film by director Naoko Yamada from Kyoto Animation, with the main staff of her critically-acclaimed film A Silent Voice. As a spin-off feature film of the ‘Sound! Euphonium’ series based on Ayano Takeda’s bestselling novel, Liz and the Blue Bird revolves around Mizore and Nozomi, two best friends in their final year of high school. With Mizore on the oboe and Nozomi on the flute, as members of the school’s brass band club, they spend their time happily together — until the club begins to practice songs inspired by the fairy tale Liz und ein Blauer Vogel (Liz and the Blue Bird).