Festivals: Japan Cuts
Japan Cuts 2023 Preview: Come Celebrate the Return of All In-Person Screenings!
Japan Society's Japan Cuts: The Festival of New Japanese Film is back in its 16th year. It marks the first all in-person festival since 2019! From July 26-Aug 6, this year’s festival features over 25 films from major blockbusters to...
Japan Cuts 2021 Preview: Newcomers and Old Faves at Fest's Hybrid Edition
After last year's all online edition, Japan Cuts, North America's largest showcase for new Japanese films, has chosen to go for a combination of online and in-person screenings (at Japan Society) for their 15th edition, taking place 8/20 - 9/2....
Interview: Sensei Sono Sion Talks RED POST ON ESCHER STREET
When Sono Sion broke out into international acclaim at 40 years old for his attention-grabbing cult favorite, Suicide Club, in 2001, his success may have seemed sudden. But when looking over his life’s work of almost impossibly immense output, it...
Japan Cuts 2020 Review: LIFE: UNTITLED Explores Humanity in Lower Depths
One can't go without mentioning Mizoguchi's superb melodrama, Street of Shame (1959), when we talk about films about sex workers. Like Street of Shame, where there were five different individuals with their own stories to tell, Yamada Kana's Life: Untitled...
Japan Cuts 2019 Interview: BLUE HOUR's Shim Eun-kyung on Crossing Into Japanese Cinema
Debuting at age nine, Shim Eun-kyung went on to become one of South Korea’s most bankable actresses, starring in hit television dramas, and box office blockbusters like Sunny and Miss Granny. Moved by her love of Japanese cinema, Shim immigrated...
Japan Cuts 2019 Interview: Director Toyoda Toshiaki Talks Quiet Rebellion in THE MIRACLE OF CRYBABY SHOTTAN
The films of Toyoda Toshiaki are known for their brash and exciting style, laced with acid takes on society. Returning to the big screen after four years with The Miracle of Crybaby Shottan, director Toyoda shows his quieter, more contemplative...
Japan Cuts 2019 Interview: Director Tezka Macoto on Rediscovering THE LEGEND OF THE STARDUST BROTHERS
In 1985, director Tezka Macoto released a singular send-up of the Japanese entertainment industry. The Legend of the Stardust Brothers was a moussed and glittering New Wave-tastic mélange of mediums; from music, to fashion, to animation -- with zombies! So...
Japan Cuts 2019 Interview: Cut Above Winner Tsukamoto Shinya Talks KILLING and TETSUO: THE IRON MAN
From his beginnings as a 14-year-old with a Super 8 camera, to his latest film, KILLING; a twist on the classic samurai movie, Tsukamoto Shinya has always blazed his own cinematic path. Receiving Japan Cuts 2019 Cut Above award...
Japan Cuts 2019 Interview: HIS LOST NAME Director Hirose Nanako Uncovers Dark Truths
His Lost Name is the story of a young man whose mysterious presence in a small town engenders willing deceptions, and reveals uncomfortable truths. At Japan Cuts 2019, director Hirose Nanako spoke exclusively with LMD about creating her first feature...
Japan Cuts 2019 Interview: DEMOLITION GIRL Director Matsugami Genta, Star Kitai Aya Talk Teenage Crushing
Demolition Girl places a coming-of-age story against the backdrop of the sketchy world of fetish videos. At Japan Cuts 2019, LMD had an exclusive chat with director Matsugami Genta and actress Kitai Aya, who has a standout performance as the...
Japan Cuts 2019 Preview: Dance the Summer Away With Great New Films
"New York, New York, a helluva town!" So declare the lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, set to music by Leonard Bernstein, in On the Town (1944), and it applies equally well today to the city that will host...
Japan Cuts 2018 Interview: BLEACH Director Sato Shinsuke on Shinigami, Samurai, and Special Effects
In the crowded world of movie adaptations of Japanese manga, Director Sato Shinsuke has carved a high place for himself, helming critically-lauded live-action versions of Gantz, I Am A Hero, 2016’s Death Note, and Inuyashiki. Sato-san set himself quite a...
Japan Cuts Interview: Cut Above Award Winner Kirin Kiki on Living Life and Art on Her Own Terms
In a career that spans over half a century, Kirin Kiki is the epitome of the late-blooming rose. From wild, comedic parts early in her career, to the wry, scene-stealing elder roles that won her awards later in life, Kirin-san...
Japan Cuts 2018 Interview: HANAGATAMI Star Kubozuka Shunsuke on a Story of Youth During Wartime
Hanagatami, the latest work from director Obayashi Nobuhiko, is a fever dream of youth during wartime. Solidly surreal and sweating with sexual tension, the auteur cast his story of teenagers with actors in their twenties, thirties and forties. At...
Japan Cuts 2018 Interview: KUSHINA Director Hayami Moët, Star Hirota Tomona and DP Muramatsu Ryo Create a Secret World of Women
An invasion of a secret world of women sets the stage for high tension in Director Hayami Moët’s Kushina, what you will be. At Japan Cuts, director Hayami, star Hirota Tomona, and cinematographer Ryo Muramatsu spoke with LMD about the...
Japan Cuts 2018 Interview: THICKER THAN WATER Director Yoshida Keisuke Talks Sibling Rivalry
In director Yoshida Keisuke’s Thicker Than Water, sibling rivalry lasts far beyond the playground. At Japan Cuts, director Yoshida spoke with LMD about family ties, jealousy, and sadistically teasing the audience. The Lady Miz Diva: As with most of...
Japan Cuts 2018 Interview: Actor/Filmmaker Saitoh Takumi on Life on Both Sides of the Camera With BLANK 13 and RAMEN SHOP
Beginning his career as a model at age 15, Saitoh Takumi has made his mark as an actor, singer, photographer, radio host, and blog writer. Because he wasn’t busy enough, Saitoh graced the Japan Cuts film festival with a...
Japan Cuts 2018 Interview: DREAM OF ILLUMINATION Director Sawada Thunder, Star Takagawa Yuya, Producer Kitaki Kazuyuki on a Changing Japan
Atmospheric and haunting, director Sawada Thunder’s Dream of Illumination, tells a story of a Japan that is changing, whether it wants to, or not. At Japan Cuts, Director Sawada, star Takagawa Yuya, and Producer Kitaki Kazuyuki, spoke to me about...
Japan Cuts 2018 Sneak Peek: New Work from Naomi Kawase Leads an Eclectic Slate
Summer in New York City means Japan Society presenting another round of delish contemporary Japanese films, ranging from the weird and macabre, to the sincere and bubblegum apeshit insane! It's all happening, starting today, July 19, and roaring until July...
Japan Cuts 2017 Interview: Cut Above Winner, Superstar Odagiri Joe on Acting and International Collaborations
One of his country’s most sought-after and exciting actors, Odagiri Joe has made a career pushing the boundaries of Japanese cinema. Fearless in his choice of roles and unhesitant about working overseas, Odagiri spoke with me about his motivations as...
