Yearly Calendar 2015

Cross-section of Japan’s Cinematic Past [Part 6]
The Toei Jidaigeki Ⅱ

April 7 – May 24, 2015

This is the 6th installment of the series “Cross-section of Japan’s Cinematic Past,” which introduces Japanese film from diverse angles. Following the first part of The Toei Jidaigeki (period film) of last year, this program will make a retrospective review of the films of masters such as Tomu Uchida and Tai Kato, the innovative Jidaigeki films which depict group duels as well as Kengeki (cloak-and-sword) starcentered Jidaigeki entertainment films.

EU Film Days 2015

May 29 – June 21, 2015
Co-organizers: The Delegation of the European Union to Japan and the embassies and the cultural institutes of the EU member states in Japan.

EU Film Days is a series showcasing films from the member states of the European Union (EU). Now in its 13th edition (8th to be held at NFC), EU Film Days brings together a wide variety of films from over 20 member states, exhibiting the wide range of filmmaking talent in Europe and introducing the diversity of European society and culture to audiences in Japan.

In Memory of Film Figures We Lost in 2013–2014

June 23 – September 6, 2015

This program is organized as a memorial to Japanese cineastes such as directors, actors and crew, who passed away in the year 2013–2014. The films, which those figures including Yoshiko Yamaguchi (aka Li Xianglan or Ri Koran), Rentaro Mikuni, Ken Takakura and Bunta Sugawara worked on, will be shown to acknowledge their achievements.

The 37th Pia Film Festival

September 12 – 24, 2015
Co-organizers: PFF Partners and Unijapan.

The 37th Pia Film Festival (6th to be held at NFC) will hold the “PFF Award Competition,” the biggest competition for non-theatrical films in the world, special programs and screenings of valuable films for movie fans and the younger generation who aspire to become movie directors.

Silent Film Renaissance 2015

October 6 – 11, 2015

This is an established program that shows quality silent films with live piano accompaniment or the oral explanation of the benshi film narrator. This year’s lineup consists of about six feature films, mainly non-Japanese ones.

Orson Welles: The Known and The Unknown

October 23–November 8, 2015

Co-organizers: Tokyo International Film Festival, Motion Picture Association (MPA) and Japanese International Motion Picture Copyright Association

Commemorating the centenary of Orson Welles (1915 –1985), who made a sensational film debut in Citizen Kane (1941) and became a legendary figure in world film history, this program will make a retrospective review of his films, mainly the ones which he directed. Audiences will get to the heart of the imagination of this solitary genius.

Korean Cinema 1934-1959: Its Foundation and Burgeoning

November 21–December 26, 2015
Co-organizers: Agency for Cultural Affairs, Korean Cultural Center, Korean Film Archive and Fukuoka City Public Library

With the generous assistance of Korean Film Archive (KoFA), this program will survey the history of Korean film. Through screenings of classical films, some of which are shown for the first time in Japan, Korea’s distinctive film culture will be made known.

Kenji Misumi Retrospective

January 5–March 13, 2016

Kenji Misumi (1921–1975) made his directorial debut in 1954 and directed many Jidaigeki films mainly at the Daiei Kyoto studio. This program will be a large retrospective of his films and review his bold and sensitive visual world characterized by not alone the expressionistic direction but delicate psychological depictions in woman’s film.

Directed by Kichitaro Negishi – His Own Selection

March 15–27, 2016

This is the 4th installment of the series that showcases the prominent Japanese directors’ films of their own selection. The lineup mainly consists of films of the 1980s and after. This program will quest for the origins of contemporary Japanese cinema.