It’s the most wonderful time of the year for Japanese cinema fans! The Japanese Film Festival Ireland has officially arrived.
The Japanese Film Festival Ireland returns for its 15th edition this April, with a line-up of films that will bring the best of Japanese cinema to towns & cities across Ireland.
Ireland’s only truly national film festival will showcase 19 films across 49 screenings this year, featuring everything from the latest anime hits to exciting indie discoveries. The festival will run from now until the 27th of April. There will be screenings in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Waterford, Dundalk, Wexford and – for the first time – Bray.
This year’s line-up will bring Irish audiences everything from acclaimed dramas to crowd-pleasing anime hits. This year’s programme includes the Irish premieres of exceptional new dramas. These include Egoist, Great Absence, Ichiko, Remembering Every Night and Shadow of Fire.
Those searching for more light-hearted fare should seek out time-loop office satire Mondays: See You ‘This’ Week! and the playful horror-comedy Love Will Tear Us Apart. Anime fans won’t want to miss the first Irish screenings of new titles Lonely Castle in the Mirror and Komada: A Whisky Family. Audiences will also be able to enjoy a special insight into Japanese culture and traditions with films such as Tsugaru Lacquer Girl and Yudo: The Way of the Bath.
Also, the festival is proud to pay tribute to the late, great Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. There will be a special double bill in Dublin of his beautiful final concert film Opus and Hirokazu Koreeda’s award-winning Monster (which features Sakamoto’s final film score). Opus will also play in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford during the festival.
Audiences in Dublin and Galway will also be able to catch this year’s classic screening – Shinji Somai’s coming-of-age drama Typhoon Club. This film has been widely celebrated as one of the greatest Japanese films of the 1980s.
As someone who has been at the Japanese Film Festival Ireland for years, it is an incredible experience. Getting to see these kinds of films on the big screen is wonderful. And I love that each year the team behind it go bigger and bolder each subsequent year.
Ticketing links and full listings are now available at www.jff.ie. Ticket sales information for screenings are available from each participating venue.
Stay tuned to Scannain for more news, reviews and event announcements across Ireland.