The 12th Japanese Film Festival
November 10th 2008 22:15
As the asphalt starts to heat up around the Harbour City, it's a sure sign that summer's on the way - it won't be long before those gorgeous Sydney sunrises occur too early to see, and languid barbecues become the order of the day.
For film freaks, summer in Sydney means film festival season, and we're just ramping up. 20/20 Filmsight aims to cover as many local festivals as possible, with a focus on country-based cinema. Australia needs as much exposure to foreign culture as possible, and the movie theatre is the perfect way to convey information about culture.
First up, the Japanese Film Festival will take place from Dec. 2 to Dec. 9 in Sydney.
The Japanese Film Festival is a special event - Asian cinema is gaining traction among movielovers, and Japanese filmmakers are among some of the most interesting craftspeople out there.
I attended a preview of the opening night film, "After School", and would heartily recommend it to all viewers.
The topmost image is from "Monster X Strikes Back / Attack the G8 Summit!", a lunatic monster invasion pic, combined with scathing political satire. It looks just weird enough for me - really, can we ever have enough monsters?
It's not all bizarre surrealism, though - the closing night film, "Departures", looks to be a softly reflective film, nominated by Japan for entry into next year's Academy Awards. It sounds like a difficult movie to get through, so be prepared to leave the cinema red-eyed and teary.
The Japanese Film Festival takes place at Greater Union cinemas on George Street, right in the heart of the city. The screenings are energetic, accompanied by a terrific sense of energy as these contemporary movies take hold of the audience.
Japanese Film Festival Screening Schedule
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