Starting today, Friday 26 February, the ten-day JFF PLUS Japanese Film Festival will be screening an attractive selection of features in original language with English subtitles. Over any given 24 hours through 7 March, three works – thrillers, dramas, animations and documentaries – will be made available each day. The films are free to view, with registration required.
Thirty Japanese films are being shown with English subtitles over the course of ten days – and they’re all free to watch!
Organised by the Budapest-based Japan Foundation, the JFF PLUS Japanese Film Festival begins today, Friday 26 February, with the master of horror, Nakata Hideo. From the maker of The Ring and The Ring 2 comes Stolen Identity, a dark tale of lovers crossing paths with a serial killer.
On Saturday, look out for the award-winning Dance With Me by Yaguchi Shinobu, a musical journey involving a hypnotist on the dancefloor.
On 1 March, the 1952 classic, The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice, tells the story of a young woman trying to avoid an arranged marriage, handled with characteristic delicacy by one of the most renowned directors in Japanese cinema history, Ozu Yasujirō.
Two films by Okita Shuichi, one of the most promising figures in contemporary Japanese cinema, are also scheduled. On 2 March, A Story of Yonosuke is set in 1987, when the hero is drawn to an older, mysterious woman of doom, Chiharu. On 6 March, screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival, Ecotherapy Getaway Holiday takes the audience on a two-day hiking excursion that goes wrong.
It’s not all drama – also programmed are animated features, films for kids and interviews with Japanese directors.
During the festival, three films will be available every day on the website. All can be watched several times within 24 hours. The full schedule is available here.
Participation is free, but registration is required.
