Screening Japanese cinema from classics to contemporary premieres in NYC. Organizers of JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film since 2007. Films streaming at film.japansociety.org
Love Letters: Four Films by Shunji Iwai
Stories
Announcing 'Love Letters: Four Films by Shunji Iwai'
One of the most original talents to emerge from Japan in the '90s, Iwai tapped into the dreams and lives of Japan’s youth with his lyrical meditations on the hardships of young adulthood, capturing pivotal and unforgettable moments of life. Balancing popular entertainment with arthouse predilection, Iwai’s exhilarating takes on the youth film provided a much-needed voice for the younger generation, offering delicate portraits of adolescence, ripe with poetic yearnings of grief, friendship and young love. Iwai’s sumptuous visual style…
Announcing 'The Female Gaze' Closing Night selection: Plan 75
Japan Society and the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, are excited to announce the East Coast Premiere of Japan’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards, Plan 75 as the closing title for its ACA Cinema Project The Female Gaze: Women Filmmakers from JAPAN CUTS and Beyond lineup. The debut film from director Chie Hayakawa, Plan 75 premiered as part of this year’s Cannes’ Un Certain Regard selection, garnering the Caméra d'Or Special Mention…
The Female Gaze: Women Filmmakers from JAPAN CUTS and Beyond | Nov. 11-20
A survey of the growing prominence and visibility of women in film, the latest ACA Cinema Project series The Female Gaze: Women Filmmakers from JAPAN CUTS and Beyond focuses on the essential roles that female artists play from behind the camera in Japanese cinema—ranging from directing and screenwriting to production and cinematography. Presenting an exciting array of screenings and premieres—that include new mainstream and independent works from JAPAN CUTS alumni and rising talents alongside a classics selection—The Female Gaze offers…
Announcing Fall Monthly Classics & Monthly Anime Lineups!
Kicking off on 9/2 with Kihachi Okamoto’s Kill! on 35mm, our fall slates includes a special screening of Tekkonkinkreet with screenwriter Anthony Weintraub, Mamoru Oshii’s incredibly hard-to-see and rarely screened cult anime Angel's Egg, Hideo Nakata’s J-Horror classic Ringu, & Hayao Miyazaki’s seminal My Neighbor Totoro on 35mm!
Announcing 'Monthly Anime'!
Japan Society is pleased to announce the launch of Monthly Anime on April 15, 2022, which will launch with a screening of Mamoru Oshii’s seminal cyberpunk classic, Ghost in the Shell. Offering an eclectic range of classic, underseen, and contemporary visions from Japanese animation, Monthly Anime explores the widely influential legacy of anime. Tracing the lineage of anime from modern-day digital animation back to the days of hand-drawn cel animation, this program aims to uncover the multifaceted and remarkable variety…
Full Jan-April 'Monthly Classics' Lineup Announced!
Japan Society is pleased to announce the return of Monthly Classics on January 21, 2022, which will kick off with a 35mm screening of Akira Kurosawa’s lauded feudal epic, Kagemusha. A monthly showcase of beloved classics, hidden gems, and recent discoveries of Japanese cinema, the Monthly Classics’ January–April lineup is composed of must-see spectacles, all on celluloid, to commemorate a long-awaited return to regular film screenings in Japan Society’s auditorium.
Monthly Classics return on 1/21 with Kagemusha on 35mm!
Just Announced! Monthly Classics returns to Japan Society this month with Akira Kurosawa's lauded epic, Kagemusha—screening on 35mm on Jan. 21st! A majestic chronicle of a petty thief given another chance at life to serve as a double for an aging warlord, Kurosawa’s late-period masterpiece erupts into a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions—relaying a fable of fealty, duty and power against a backdrop of feudal Japan.
Miwa Nishikawa's Wild Berries & The Long Excuse Screen Slate
Lists
The Female Gaze: Women Filmmakers from JAPAN CUTS and Beyond 17 films
Nov. 11-20 A survey of the growing prominence and visibility of women in film, the latest ACA Cinema Project series…
Fall 2022 Monthly Classics & Anime 5 films
Japan Society is pleased to announce its fall lineup for Monthly Classics and Monthly Anime, kicking off on September 2,…
Monthly Classics 9 films
Year-round screenings of beloved classics, hidden gems and recent discoveries of Japanese cinema, presented in-theater at…
Monthly Anime 7 films
Offering an eclectic range of classic, underseen, and contemporary visions from Japanese animation, Monthly Anime explores the widely influential legacy…
Visions of Okinawa: Cinematic Reflections 7 films
May 13-June 3, 2021 Marking 50 years since Okinawa’s reversion from American sovereignty back to Japan, Visions of Okinawa documents…
Flash Forward: Debut Works and Recent Films by Notable Japanese Filmmakers | 2021 19 films
Highlighting the early efforts of now-established contemporary filmmakers, the second ACA Cinema Project series…
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Recent reviews
North American Premiere. The latest from Akiko Ohku (My Sweet Grappa Remedies, JC 2020; Tremble All You Want, JC 2018) steps away from the director’s singular heroines to offer a wildly entertaining ensemble piece. When Akihito and Haruka decide to tie the knot, little do they know of the impending chaos to follow when the wedding guests—each with their own set of motivations, passions and backstories—begin to use the wedding for their own means, threatening to derail a “perfect wedding.”…
Investigating an urban myth of a cursed videotape that kills its watchers within seven days of viewing, journalist Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima) discovers a series of unnatural teenage deaths tied to a tangible, real-life tape when her niece falls victim to the curse. A dirgelike procession of contorted corpses, grainy video footage and disturbing imagery, Nakata’s brooding J-horror classic unleashes a barrage of nightmare fuel that feeds off of the technological anxieties of our modern era.
Screening followed by a Q&A with screenwriter Anthony Weintraub. Deep in the urban sprawl of a dilapidated pan-Asian cityscape named Treasure Town, streetwise orphans Black and White spend their days pickpocketing, soaring across rooftops and fighting petty turf wars. The arrival of a yakuza faction, however, brings a new set of challenges when plans to raze the metropolis and build an amusement to replace it take hold. Widely energetic in its direction and innovative art style, Tekkonkinkreet adapts Taiyo Matsumoto’s…
Kihachi Okamoto’s darkly satirical chambara opens in the midst of a pummeling windstorm on the outskirts of a ravaged village where two swordsmen—a farmer hoping to reputable samurai and a former samurai who has taken on the yakuza life—accidentally become embroiled in a plot to assassinate the local clan leader. Exaggerated and poking fun at the genre’s oft-repeated tropes, Okamoto’s Kill! is a wickedly entertaining take on the same novel that inspired Kurosawa’s Sanjuro.
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#TOTORO: 😁
had the pleasure of watching this at japan society in manhattan on 35mm film AND it was my first time watching it. absolutely delightful film. i've always wanted to watch it since middle school but just never got around to it and i'm so happy i finally did :) he's just a silly little guy with his silly little leaf living in a silly little forest :)))
An incredible delight to see with a sold-out audience laughing and "aww"-ing at every shot. Before the movie started a little ~4-year-old girl pointed at an image of Totoro and shouted "Totoro!" with glee. That kind of non-stop audience reaction usually bothers me, but for this movie it really just drives home how much joy and delight Miyazaki infuses every single moment with. It reminded me of how so many modern Disney blockbusters have a deliberately cute sidekick animal with…
35mm @ japan society. one of the most perfect nights i’ve ever spent at the movies.
I had the opportunity last night to see this on 35mm at Japan Society in NYC which was absolutely magnificent. The laughter and sentimental "Aw's" of the crowd as the absolutely adorable cast of characters find their way into an emotional packed ride about the love and respect we must have for nature. If we respect nature, we will be respected back. The environmentalism that Totoro stands for seemed to have slightly gone over my head during my first watch…
December 9-23, 2022
One of the most original talents to emerge from Japan in the '90s, director Shunji Iwai tapped into the dreams and lives of Japan’s youth with his lyrical meditations on the hardships of young adulthood, capturing pivotal and unforgettable moments of life. Balancing popular entertainment with arthouse predilection, Iwai’s exhilarating takes on the youth film provided a much-needed voice for the younger generation, offering delicate portraits of adolescence, ripe with poetic yearnings of grief, friendship and young love. Iwai’s sumptuous visual style coupled with his affecting and underground appeal opened a world of new possibilities in the '90s cinescape—marking him as one of the most accomplished and unique filmmakers of his generation. Check out our website for more details, tickets on sale now!