The Singapore Japanese Film Festival 2018 lineup & schedule

The Singapore Japanese Film Festival is back this year after a hiatus of more than one year and it seems like the absence is well-justified probably because the organisers managed to assemble such an interesting line-up of films, some of them being as new as shown in Japan just last year. One major change this year is the removal of free screenings i.e. all screenings need tickets (SGD 13 each). In addition, there seems to be no discounts even for multiple ticket purchases. The venue for all screenings will be at the National Museum's Gallery Theatre which I quite like because of its central location and fine condition of the theatre. If you like Japanese movies and are in Singapore or happen to be here next month, do support this film festival so that it can continue to be held in future. Moreover, some of these films will probably never make it to a commercial release in our cinemas here so you definitely shouldn't miss the chance to catch them.

For more information on the films such as the storyline, you may wish to click on the tabs of the movies' titles at the bottom of this post as I had covered some of them before on this blog or the links to the titles in this post which will bring you to the film festival's site. All movies have English subtitles and are uncut but some of them have restricted ratings (NC16, M18 or R21) so unless indicated otherwise, the movie's rating is PG. Please check this before purchasing tickets especially if you happen to be underage.


The schedule and list of films are as follows in chronological order (earliest to latest):

Opening Film: Survival Family (サバイバルファミリー)
Screening Date: 2 March 2018 / Friday / 8pm
Released in Japan on 11 February 2017
Cast: Kohinata Fumiyo, Fukatsu Eri, Izumisawa Yuuki, Aoi Wakana, Tokito Saburo, Fujiwara Norika, Ohno Takuro, Shison Jun, Watanabe Eri, Takuma Shin, Emoto Akira, Daichi Yasuo & Matsuura Miyabi etc.
There will be an opening ceremony from 7pm where the director of this movie Yaguchi Shinobu will appear at. Ticket holders to this movie are allowed to join as well. After the screening, there will be a Q & A session where Yaguchi will address questions from the audience.

Rudolf The Black Cat ( ルドルフとイッパイアッテナ)
Screening Date: 3 March 2018 / Saturday / 2.30pm OR 18 March 2018 / Sunday / 2.30pm
Released in Japan on 6 August 2016
Voice actors: Inoue Mao, Suzuki Ryohei, Otsuka Akio, Furuta Arata, Yashima Norito, Mizuki Nana, Sasaki Rio, Dokumamushi Sandayu, Terasaki Yuka




Sansho The Baliff (山椒大夫 / Sanshou Dayuu)
Screening Date: 3 March 2018 / Saturday / 5pm
Released in Japan on 31 March 1954
Cast: Tanaka Kinuyo, Kagawa Kyoko, Shindo Eitaro, Hanayagi Yoshiaki, Sugai Ichiro, Mitsuda Ken, Tagawa Masahiko, Shimizu Masao, Naniwa Chieko, Mori Kikue, Kono Akitake, Kagawa Ryosuke

MEMOIRS OF A MURDERER (22年目の告白 ―私が殺人犯です― / 22 Nenme no Kokuhaku Watashi ga satsujinhan desu)
NC16
Screening Date: 3 March 2018 / Saturday / 8pm OR 12 March 2018 / Monday / 8pm
Released in Japan on 10 June 2017
Cast: Fujiwara Tatsuya, Ito Hideaki, Kaho, Nomura Shuhei, Ishibashi Anna, Ryuusei Ryo, Matsumoto Marika, Yajima Kenichi, Saotome Taichi, Hirata Mitsuru, Iwamatsu Ryo, Iwaki Koichi & Nakamura Tooru

ReLIFE (リライフ)
Screening Date: 4 March 2018 / Sunday / 2pm OR 14 March 2018 / Wednesday / 8pm
Released in Japan on 15 April 2017
Cast: Nakagawa Taishi, Taira Yuna, Takasugi Mahiro, Ikeda Elaiza, Okazaki Sae, Chiba Yuudai, Ono Kenshou

Daytime Shooting Star (ひるなかの流星 / Hirunaka no Ryuusei)
Screening Date: 4 March 2018 / Sunday / 5pm OR 13 March 2018 / Tuesday / 8pm
Released in Japan on 24 March 2017
Cast: Nagano Mei, Miura Shohei, Shirahama Alan, Yamamoto Maika, Koyama Rina, Ohata Shieri, Onodera Akira, Muroi Hibiki, Sato Ryuta












The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice (お茶漬けの味 / Ochazuke no Aji)
Screening Date: 4 March 2018 / Sunday / 8pm
Released in Japan on 1 October 1952
Cast: Saburi Shin, Kogure Michiyo, Tsuruta Koji, Ryu Chishu, Awashima Chikage, Tsushima Keiko, Miyake Kuniko & Yanagi Eijiro

The Long Excuse (永い言い訳 / Nagai Iiwake)
M18
Screening Date: 5 March 2018 / Monday / 8pm OR 18 March 2018 / Sunday / 8pm
Released in Japan on 14 October 2016
Cast: Motoki Masahiro, Fukatsu Eri, Takehara Pistol, Fujita Kenshin, Shiratori Tamaki, Horiuchi Keiko, Ikematsu Sousuke, Kuroki Haru, Yamada Maho, Matsuoka Izumi, Totsugi Shigeyuki, Iwai Hideto, Kimura Tae (narrator) etc.

Honnoji Hotel (本能寺ホテル / Honnouji Hotel)
Screening Date: 9 March 2018 / Friday / 8pm OR 17 March 2018 / Saturday / 5pm
Released in Japan on 14 January 2017
Cast: Ayase Haruka, Tsutsumi Shinichi, Hamada Gaku, Hirayama Hiroyuki, Taguchi Hiromasa, Takashima Masahiro, Kondo Masaomi, Kazama Morio & Nakai Kiichi (narrator)













Tora-san of Goto (五島のトラさん / Gotou no Tora-san)
Screening Date: 10 March 2018 / Saturday / 2pm OR 17 March 2018 / Saturday / 2pm
Released in Japan on 18 June 2016
As this is a documentary about a family over 22 years, there are no actors in the line-up.

Floating Weeds (浮草 / Ukigusa)
Screening Date: 10 March 2018 / Saturday / 5pm
Released in Japan on 17 November 1959
Cast: Nakamura Ganjiro, Kyo Machiko, Kawaguchi Hiroshi, Sugimura Haruko, Wakao Ayako etc.

Creepy (クリーピー 偽りの隣人 - / Creepy Itsuwari no Rinjin)
NC16
Screening Date: 10 March 2018 / Saturday / 8pm OR 18 March 2018 / Sunday / 5pm
Released in Japan on 18 June 2016
Cast: Nishijma Hidetoshi, Takeuchi Yuko, Kawaguchi Haruna, Higashide Masahiro, Kagawa Teruyuki, Fujino Ryoko, Toda Masahiro, Baba Tooru, Saisho Misaki & Sasano Takashi











The Story of Chikamatsu (近松物語 / Chikamatsu Monogatari)
Screening Date: 11 March 2018 / Sunday / 2.30pm
Released in Japan on 23 November 1954
Cast: Hasegawa Kazuo, Kagawa Kyoko, Shindo Eitaro, Ozawa Eitaro, Minamida Yoko, Tanaka Haruo etc.

Her Love Boils Bathwater (湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛 / Yu wo wakasu hodo no atsui ai)
Screening Date: 11 March 2018 / Sunday / 5pm OR 16 March 2018 / Friday / 8pm
Released in Japan on 29 October 2016
Cast: Miyazawa Rie, Sugisaki Hana, Odagiri Jo, Matsuzaka Toori, Ito Aoi, Shinohara Yukiko, Suruga Taro, Matsubara Nanoka, Lily

Tori Girl (トリガール)
Screening Date: 11 March 2018 / Sunday / 8pm
Released in Japan on 1 September 2017
Cast: Tsuchiya Tao, Mamiya Shotaro, Takasugi Mahiro, Ikeda Elaiza, Yamoto Yuuma, Maehara Kou, Hatori Shinichi, Todoroki Jiro etc.













The Ballad of Narayama (楢山節考 / Narayama Bushiko)
R21
Screening Date: 17 March 2018 / Saturday / 8pm
Released in Japan on 29 April 1983
Cast: Ogata Ken, Sakamoto Sumiko, Hidari Tonpei, Takejo Aki, Ozawa Shoichi etc.