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Japanese Film Festival 2014


Just wondering how many readers would be attending the Japanese Film Festival this year? I've only attended the festival once a few years back, and the experience was pretty good despite the crowds and such. I'm considering this year's because the films would make ideal materials for future articles and stuff. The writer's mind can get really brittle if the creative juices run out fast! As usual, the film festival will be held at the National Museum of Singapore over 17 days, beginning June 26th.

What I appreciate first and foremost about the Japanese Film Festival is the selection of films that covers nearly every era imaginable. Genres wise, previous festivals had played host to horror, sexual, artistic, eccentric and family films, just to name some. Furthermore, many of those screenings are free to the public. You just need to queue early to secure tickets. Of course, some films are...ahem, age-restricted, so don't even try to blend in.  

This year, the Japanese Film Festival has a little something up its sleeves. The closing film is neither a paid nor free admission. Instead, ballots will be held among the patrons of other films. According to the official website, the closing film is a 2013 film and it runs for 120 minutes. Gosh, if any reader got lucky, congratulations!

The films are classified into Currents and Retrospective; basically Currents are paid admission only films and they usually get sold out like hotcakes. I remember there was once where I had so wanted to catch Air Doll at the festival, but the seats were snapped up in just a short blink of an eye, even for the additional screening! Needless to say, I was depressed for the rest of the year...not really. Anyway, as of this article, one of the Currents has been sold out - The Mole Song. It's directed by Miike Takashi of 'Audition' fame. Anybody catching the film?

As for the Retrospective, they are usually black and white gems from as early as the 1950s. Admission is free. Several titles have caught my attention, but unfortunately I wouldn't be able to catch some of them. Anyway, through these early gems we could discover the versatility and openness of Japanese cinema that would often intrigue the rest of the world.

This year's Retrospective pays tribute to the late Ichikawa Kon; 15 of his films will be screened at the festival. Mr. Ichikawa was an extremely versatile filmmaker, and his works covered many genres like comedy, drama and mystery. He even directed documentaries. He passed away six years ago, at the age of 92. Interested readers can find out more about this wonderful filmmaker here.

I believe that I've covered pretty much the main bulk of the festival's line-up this year. Hopefully, I would be able to catch a few titles and in turn churn out some review or more!

Eccentrically Yours.

Written by J.Fluffysheep ♪

http://www.milkcananime.com/p/blog-page.html

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