Tag - film

 
 

FILM

Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus One,” which won an Academy Award for best visual effects, was made for a reported $15 million — a small fraction of the budgets used by its Hollywood competitors.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 6, 2024
Japanese cinema is having a stand-out year. Here are some films to watch.
The success of "Godzilla Minus One" gave Japan's film industry a confidence boost, but we haven't been short on must-see hits in 2024.
American sprinter Noah Lyles poses with a "Yu-Gi-Oh!" card after winning at the U.S. Olympic track-and-field finals on Sunday. The image went viral, once again showing the popularity of Japanese cultural exports like manga.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 28, 2024
Blackstone sees billions in manga. You should too.
Investment firm Blackstone's move to buy manga platform Mecha Comics, betting on the strength of Japan's soft power, looks further ahead than other players have.
Film director Hirokazu Kore-eda (left) and actor Lily Franky arrive for a photocall to promote the Official Selection feature film "Shoplifters" at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain in September 2018.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 21, 2024
Japanese film startup aims to change industry working conditions
K2 Pictures is seeking to raise the money from domestic and foreign investors.
Netflix is ramping up local production in Southeast Asia, aiming to boost its subscriber base in the region even as U.S. rivals are pulling back.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2024
Netflix uses ‘Squid Game’ playbook for untapped Southeast Asia
Asia Pacific, accounting for just 11% of Netflix's 2023 revenue may offer significant growth potential due to its large, young demographic.
"Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window," received an award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France on Saturday.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 16, 2024
'Totto-Chan' anime wins award at prestigious Annecy film festival
"Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window," directed by Japan's Shinnosuke Yakuwa, won at one of the largest animation film festivals in the world.
Tomoyo (Mei Nagano)'s life is suddenly turned upside down when she learns about the suicide of a childhood friend, in Yuki Tanada’s “My Broken Mariko."
CULTURE / Film
Jun 15, 2024
Japanese Film Festival Online gives old and new titles a second life overseas
The festival will unfold in two sessions: the first from June 5 to 19 with 23 films, and the second from June 19 to July 3 with 25 films and two TV drama series.
The documentary short “Now and Then" traces how the Beatles honored John Lennon after his death by crafting a tune he wrote into the “last Beatles song.”
CULTURE / Film
May 30, 2024
Eight standout films to catch at this year's Short Shorts Film Festival
The event will screen roughly 270 films that range from dramas about current social issues to animations that push the limits of the imagination.
Takashi Miike (front left) is among the big-name directors slated to work with K2 Pictures, a new film production startup that aims to disrupt the Japanese film industry.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 25, 2024
Can K2's goal of creating a better film industry in Japan win over skeptics?
While established auteurs such as Takashi Miike, Miwa Nishikawa and Hirokazu Kore-eda are slated to work with the startup, it still faces an uphill struggle.
Though he enjoyed making films when he was younger, Ryan Filiatrault wound up working a slew of other jobs before returning to his passion in his 30s.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
May 24, 2024
Ryan Filiatrault: 'Failure is an obstacle not a barrier. You can always get back on track.'
The Canadian filmmaker has taken a regimented approach to following his passion — and it has worked.
Andre Hayato Saito’s latest short, “Amarela,” centers on a 14-year-old Japanese Brazilian girl (Melissa Uehara).
CULTURE / Film
May 21, 2024
Cannes nominee on being 'too Brazilian to be Japanese, too Japanese to be Brazilian’
Andre Hayato Saito's Palme d’Or-nominated short film, “Amarela,” is rooted in the director's own experiences with searching for a sense of belonging.
Goro Miyazaki, film director and creative development director of the Ghibli Park and Hayao Miyazaki's son, poses after receiving an Honorary Palme d'Or on behalf of Studio Ghibli during a ceremony dedicated to the animation powerhouse at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on Monday.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 21, 2024
Studio Ghibli receives honorary Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival
The legendary Japanese powerhouse Studio Ghibli became the first collective to receive an honorary Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
A screening of "Mei and the Baby Cat Bus," which is being billed as a "mini-sequel" to the Studio Ghibli classic "My Neighbor Totoro," is set to take place at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 19, 2024
Rare sequel to 'My Neighbor Totoro' to play at Cannes
The screening is part of the lead-up to Studio Ghibli's receiving an honorary Palme D'Or at the festival.
D.B. Weiss, co-creator of the Netflix sci-fi drama series "3 Body Problem," is interviewed in Las Vegas, in January.  Some Chinese viewers have expressed disappointment with the adaptation's departure from the original source material.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 10, 2024
The ‘3-Body Problem’ of adapting content across borders
From anime to the latest Netflix blockbuster, changing material can be a controversial subject. How much modification is acceptable?
Renegade director Koji Wakamatsu (Arata Iura, right) heads to Nagoya in the early 1980s to open his own cinema in “Hijacked Youth Dare to Stop Us 2.”
CULTURE / Film
Apr 4, 2024
‘Hijacked Youth Dare to Stop Us 2’ captures origins of indie theater boom
Junji Inoue’s semi-autobiographical film is a love letter to independent cinemas — and their fans.
People dressed as King Kong and Godzilla attend the world premiere of "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood last month.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Apr 2, 2024
'Godzilla x Kong' tops North American box office with $80 million haul
Japan's favorite monster seems to be on a roll this year, winning an Oscar and topping the box office in a prized market.
A poster for "Oppenheimer" is displayed at a theater in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on Friday. The film's Japan debut came eight months after its global release.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 29, 2024
'Oppenheimer' opens in Japan eight months after global release
Japan screenings were delayed as the worldwide premiere was only weeks before the anniversary of the 1945 bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Joel Vaudreuil's "When Adam Changes" won the grand prix at this year's Niigata International Animation Film Festival, the largest festival devoted to feature-length animation in Asia.
CULTURE / Film / CULTURE SMASH
Mar 28, 2024
Niigata film festival showcases cutting-edge overseas talent
The six-day event dedicated to feature-length animation presented a lineup of stories that were psychologically rich and emotionally dark.
Directed and co-written by Sunao Katabuchi, animated film “In This Corner of the World” depicts the beauty of nature and the horrors of war with equal potency.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 27, 2024
Films that give the Japanese perspective of the atomic bomb
Movies about the nation's darkest days — in genres such as dramas, fantasies and anime — offer another side to Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer' story.
“Blue Imagine” centers on a young actor (Mayu Yamaguchi) who finds support at a communal living space after she is sexually assaulted by a well-known director while participating in his actors’ workshop.
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2024
'Blue Imagine' gives voice to victims of sexual abuse in the film industry
Urara Matsubayashi's debut feature finds the beauty in women coming together in solidarity to publicly speak out against abusers.
The former Okaya City Hall in Nagano Prefecture, where parts of the movie "Godzilla Minus One" was filmed
CULTURE / Film
Mar 16, 2024
Nagano area where latest 'Godzilla' made becoming filming hot spot
The scenic Suwa area has become popular for its convenient proximity to Tokyo and its readiness to accommodate film projects.

Longform

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