The Philippines was all set to give a warm welcome to the Japanese Film Festival, the rebranding of the Eiga Sai, one of the country's most popular and longest running foreign language film festivals presented by the Japan Foundation, Manila. Not surprisingly, the festival could not escape the mess that the ongoing pandemic has wreaked upon the film industry and to the arts and culture scene worldwide.
In response to the situation, the film festival migrates online as JFF Plus: Online Festival happening this November 20-29, 2020 at the newly launched JFF Plus website. A selection of 28 films are available for viewing for free, accessible from a variety of devices like desktops laptops, mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs etc.
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Leading this year’s selection is Project Dreams - How to Build Mazinger Z's Hangar 前田建設ファンタジー営業部 (2020) which will also have limited 3 day screening on November 20-22, 6:00 PM at the SM Cinema Drive-in at the Mall of Asia complex, Pasay City with tickets retailing for P100 each.
Directed by Hanabusa Tsumotu, this ode to the anime/manga classic follows the journey of Maeda Corporation's fantasy marketing department on a mission to make the impossible possible and challenge the boundaries between reality and fiction.
The other feature films included in the lineup are Our 30-Minute Sessions (2020) by Hagiwara Kentaro, Little Nights, Little Love (2019) by Imaizumi Rikiya, The Great Passage (2013) by Ishii Yuya, Café Funiculi Funicula (2018) by Tsukahara Ayuko, 0.5mm (2014) by Ando Momoko, Ecotherapy Getaway Holiday (2014) and A Story of Yonosuke (2013) both by Okita Shuichi, Railways (2010) by Nishikori Yoshinari, Lady Maiko (2014) by Suo Masayuki, Stolen Identity (2018) by Nakata Hideo, Key of Life (2012) by Uchida Kenji, and Dance with Me (2019) by Yaguchi Shinobu.
The festival also boasts of a wide lineup of animated films that anime fans can enjoy. These include Sumikkogurashi: Good to be in the Corner (2019) by Mankyu and Production I.G Animation’s Tokyo Marble Chocolate (2007) by Shiotani Naoyoshi. Also included are the stop motion animation shorts by Yashiro Takeshi namely Gon, The Little Fox (2015), Moon of a Sleepless Night (2015), Norman the Snowman - The Northern Light (2013), and Norman the Snowman - On a Night of Shooting Stars (2016). Other shorts include Production I.G Short Animations' Pigtails (2015) by Itazu Yoshimi, Kick-Heart (2013) by Yuasa Masaaki, Li'l Spider Girl (2012) by Kaiya Toshihisa, Drawer Hobs (2011) by Kise Kazuchika, and The Girl from the Other Side (2019) by Kubo Yutaro.
Wrapping up the film selection are the documentaries Peace (2010) by Soda Kazuhiro and Tora-san in Goto (2016) by Oura Masaru, Tsukiji Wonderland (2016) by Endo Naotaro, and the 1952 classic The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice by Ozu Yasujiro.
Access to the films online are for free through the JFF Plus website. One just have to visit the website, create an account, check the schedule for the Philippines, and pick the film(s) one wants to watch. Schedule listing and detailed film synopses can be seen by visiting the website. Films can be viewed on demand for 24 hours after the scheduled start time. Tickets to the SM Cinema Drive-in screenings are available at the SM Tickets website.
When asked during an online press conference about how film festivals such as this have been altered by the surge in popularity of various online streaming platforms offering a wide selections of films, current and returning JFM Director Ben Suzuki answered that film festivals have responded by providing an added value that the streaming platforms do not offer like talkbacks with directors. And the JFF Plus: Online Festival will have just that with interviews with various directors namely Imaizumi Rikiya, Okita Shuichi, Soda Kazuhiro, Yashiro Takeshi, and Shiraishi Kazuya, conducted by film critic Mark Schilling. The interviews can be seen at the JFF Plus website or at its YouTube channel for the duration of the festival.
The JFF Plus: Online Festival is presented by the Japan Foundation, Manila and made possible with the Japan Foundation Asian Center, in partnership with JT International (Philippines), the Film Development Council of the Philippines, the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines and SM Cinema.
